


Changes of Opinion

by RevyCaitEll



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny gets his ass kicked, Gen, Maddie gets angry, Nosy Parents, electricity sucks, ungrateful jerks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:37:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RevyCaitEll/pseuds/RevyCaitEll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the GiW go too far and Amity's ghosts are becoming more vicious, public opinion is easily swayed. After it comes to light that previous 'research' on ghost behaviour is grossly false, things get a whole lot more complicated for one Danny Phantom. Dodging the media and overly curious parents, what happens next?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Flying lazily over Amity Park, Danny had not been expecting Vortex to snatch him straight out of the air and send him plummeting to the street below. He didn't appreciate being tossed into three shop fronts either. Gingerly he pulled glass splinters out of his arm. Green oozed from the wounds. He cracked his bruised back, satisfied with the loud pops.

'Vortex?' Danny scowled, last time they had met he remembered getting shocked. A lot. The damage caused by his storms had taken ages to clean up. Vlad had also blamed the entire mess on Danny Phantom. Ghost hunters had been chasing him especially for weeks afterwards. Not fun.

"Ghost Child, you'll be in for it now, as I" Vortex paused to take a gulp of air "will be giving the shock of your miserable afterlife," a sinister grin spread across the weather ghost's face.

The air just changed. Electricity buzzed through the gathering clouds. A tingle washed over the half ghost before the lightning struck, hitting dead on. Danny screamed his throat raw in seconds. Everything burned. His body twisted and thrashed on its own accord. Black squiggly lines invaded his vision and all sound was dulled. It stopped after what felt like hours.

Danny curled up on the ground, arms and legs twitching, while other muscles in his back and stomach spasmed out of control. His eyes were open, but he couldn't see. Raw agony gripped him, burning talons ripped through each individual cell.

The ground focused into view, and Danny noted the green swirling mass in front of him. His head rang and any coherent thought was chased off by the overwhelming stimulus of hurt, pain that his nerves told his scrambled brain. Not that it did him much good. What was left of his vision dulled to black and white, like Poindexter's realm his mind supplied. Then it just faded out and Danny gave up on trying to cling to consciousness.

XxXxXxXx

The town of Amity Park, ghost central of America, was fairly used to the random ghost attacks, invasions and whatnot. It was the quirk of living there. While said ghost attacks caused plenty smashed cars and body shaped imprints on walls and pavement, the locals could not deny the tourism it brought with it.

Amity was beginning to flourish, despite the numerous battles that raged within the town. Ghost Watch, the channel dedicated to ghost watching, was brimming with success, profits and views. Debates raged on about the ghosts that plagued Amity, not forgetting the infamous Ghost Boy, Danny Phantom. People flocked from all over the world to visit the haunted town, their spent money flowing into Amity. New shops, hotels and gift stores sprung up, eager to please the mass of tourists streaming into the town.

Phantom had unwittingly become Amity's ghost mascot. His face was plastered on signs with the caption "Home of Danny Phantom". Ghost Watch had planted ghost sensors throughout the town, courtesy of the Fentons. No battle went unnoticed. Betting shops had even popped up, and Phantom had made more than a few people rich with winnings.

The minute Vortex appeared, darkening the skies as he did so, Ghost Watch's camera was trained on the ensuing battle. The people of Amity halted, and eyes and ears were focused on the TV or radio. When the lightning struck everyone saw the target. Phantom collapsed to the ground, limbs out of control. Viewers tried to ignore the tortured screams. After the lightning abruptly stopped, one seriously fried ghost kid was left in its wake.

Phantom didn't get up. No witty banter was exchanged. Vortex towered over Phantom, a malicious grin spread across his face. This wasn't good.

Amity's Ghost Evac Alarm wailed through the the air, desperately activated when Phantom didn't stir. The Ghost Boy remained motionless on the street bar the occasional twitches of limbs.

The cocky atmosphere vanished. Fear grasped with its icy fingers. The townspeople of Amity Park fled to the town square, where one of the sturdiest ghost shields that the Fentons had ever created resided. A glowing green dome materialised, encasing the cowering citizens.

IThe attacking weather ghost, Vortex, plucked up the defenceless ghost kid and threw him down the street, laughing as Phantom crashed face first into concrete.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny's face felt as if he had been thrown into concrete. When toxic green eyes drearily took in his surroundings, he realised that he thirty metres away from where he'd last passed out. Great. His body ached and Danny couldn't help but notice that something smelled burnt. Oh yeah, him.

"Reminder to self, never get struck by lightning again," Danny groaned before rising shakily to his feet. Vortex had already gotten to work on ruining the weather. The skies were an ominous black and Danny could feel the sharp stings of freezing cold rain pelt his skin. Taking a look at himself, Danny grimaced when he saw the electrical burns covering his body. His jumpsuit was badly damaged and was unsettlingly crispy.

Danny's left eye was swollen and puffy, and he could feel the stickiness of dried ectoplasm on his cheek and neck. He wiped it off as gently as he could, realising that the whole left side of face was very badly bruised. He glared at the red tinted ectoplasm.

"Vortex, when I find you, you're gonna get crap beaten out of you," Danny snarled, frowning at the destruction caused by Vortex. He raced up into the sky, squinting as the rain hammered into his face. He caught sight of the glowing of the town's ghost shield. Underneath the dome, the inhabitants of Amity were huddled, fearfully spying the rampaging weather ghost. Streets were covered in ice, buildings had been blown apart by high winds and Vortex was physically tearing structures to bits.

Total mayhem.

A hushed whisper fell over the townspeople. Their gaze was focused on an overturned car. Danny vanished from sight, praying that Vortex would not detect him. He flew towards the car and his breath caught in his throat. A small family trembled behind the battered vehicle. A man and woman, most likely the parents of the little boy grasping them, were hiding. They looked worse for wear, with small scratches and darkening bruises forming. Danny rushed to them, appearing before their eyes with a finger on his lip.

"Shush, it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," he murmured, looking over the terrified group.

"Danny Ph-Phantom?" the woman stuttered, her face a ghastly white.

"Yeah, look I'm getting you outta here, but I need you guys to be really quite. Can you do that?" he got some hesitant nods.

"Is anyone hurt? Can you all walk?" Danny questioned, concern leaking across his face.

"I need you all to hold on to each other, whatever you do, don't let go," Danny gently grasped the man's shoulder. He saw them shudder as they turned invisible.

"What happened?" the man's voice was high pitched with stress.

"I've made us all invisible, you'll stay that way as long as you're touching me," Danny replied, brow furrowed in concentration.

"We're going to walk over to the ghost shield, you guys will be safe there," he got a small "Okay" in response.

They hurriedly made their way to the shield, desperately trying to stay quiet. Of course, nothing ever goes right for Danny. He paused mid step glaring up at the looming form of Vortex making his way up the street.

Crap.

"Why, something's bothering you little fleshlings," Vortex's annoying voice grated on Danny's sensitive hearing. Vortex hovered closer and the town watched on in horror, not knowing that the family was on their way to safety. Danny couldn't see the family, but he could hear their breathing quicken and felt a death grip tighten on his arm.

"Just stay quiet, he can't hurt what's not there, he can't see us, but he can hear us," Danny whispered, hoping that the panicking family could remain unnoticed.

They remained painstakingly still and Vortex floated past them, unaware. They were only twenty metres away from the shield. Then someone tripped on a piece of scrap metal. The offending clatter rang out. Vortex turned around abruptly, red eyes narrowed, his face splitting into a gruesome grin.

"Well then, not everyone made it to that infernal ghost shield. Now who would be stupid enough to be out in this awful weather?" A shuffle of back-pedalling feet could be heard.

"Invisible are you? Ah, Phantom. I was wondering when you'd get here, as you see I have been busy. No smartass comments? You must not be feeling well. That can happen when struck by lightning," chuckling, Vortex advanced further.

Danny felt himself getting tugged backwards. He tried to pull back, knowing that Vortex was looking out for any movement. The family were probably too terrified to think straight. Another surprisingly strong pull sent Danny sprawling to the ground. They broke contact and the invisibility flickered away revealing them to the malevolent ghost.

"Aha found you!" potent ecto blasts lit up Vortex's palms and he threw them with deadly accuracy. The targets froze. Danny rushed to his feet, stretching his arms outwards. Sizzling energy materialised from his hands and the shield created blocked the incoming blasts.

"Run!" he yelled, straining as repeated blasts slammed into his barrier. He could hear the screaming of the people behind him encouraging the family to keep going. His arms started shaking. Sweat poured down his face.

He was still weak and sore from earlier. The blasts become stronger with fury, as their creator grew more enraged.

Danny dropped to one knee vaguely registering the excited cheers. They made it. Vortex snarled as he reached forward and grabbed Danny harshly. He yelped as long fingers crushed his body.

"Hello Ghost Child. You're all alone now. No annoying friends to help you get out of this one, and let me assure you, I have not forgotten last time!"

The fingers tightened and Danny bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from screaming. He turned intangible falling to the ground. He made a break for it. Danny didn't get far. Red hot electricity surged through him and again he collapsed to the ground. Getting struck by lightning had that effect on people. The only thing he focus on was to stop the warmth of his transformation rings from washing over him. They continued to waver over his stomach before he managed to pull them back completely.

"Ah yes, you still have that little secret, don't you?" Vortex picked Danny up again, holding him upside down by one foot. Danny was barely conscious, his eyes dull.

"We have an audience Phantom. We should give them a show," Vortex shook Danny about a bit, not caring as his taloned hand dug into the halfa's leg.

"I wonder how much electricity it would take to end your half life hm?"

"Don't even go there Vortex," Danny snarled weakly trying to kick the offending ghost.

"Phantom you're not really in the best position now are you? I hold all the cards, I practically have the entire town as my hostage and you are at my mercy whelp." For a half ghost Danny was quite tanned. Vortex smirked as Danny's face visibly paled.

"Maybe I should take a page out of Skulker's book. How about I skin you? But that sounds a little boring and I love a bit chaos. Maybe I should test that insufferable ghost shield's endurance, see how long it lasts till I can crack it open th-"

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM!" Danny exclaimed kicking furiously "They have nothing do with this. Just leave them alone," he finished quietly, locking eyes with Vortex's, a mask of determination etched onto his face.

"Your niaveity amuses me. If you want me to leave the puny humans alone, make me child," Vortex spat slugging Danny in the stomach. Electricity buzzed again and Danny let out a strangled yelp. A traitorous ring formed and Danny hurriedly stamped it out of existence.

"You like your secrets, don't you Phantom. Maybe I could loosen you up a bit. Wouldn't you like Amity to know? It is your pathetic haunt after all," Vortex radiated smugness. He hovered right up to the ghost shield allowing the wide eyed crowd to get a close look at Danny. If he changed now there was no way he could undo the damage. Practically the entire town was staring at him. He looked through the crowd hoping to spot his family. They weren't there. He didn't see Sam or Tucker either.

Pure panic seized him. Where were they? Are they hurt? Did Vortex get them? Question after question raced through Danny's brain.

Were they dead?

No. No stop thinking that. They're at FentonWorks. They have to be. The Fenton Ghost Shield would've protected them. Danny looked through the mob again and spotted Valerie with her dad. Damon probably wouldn't let her out of his sight. That's one problem he didn't have to worry about.

It was just him and Vortex. A very unhappy, revengeful Vortex.

This sucks.


	3. Chapter

"We have to help him!" Sam shouted glaring at the tv. It was unbearable to watch Vortex torture Danny by repeatedly shocking him with forks of lightning. Every time the white rings formed, Sam's breath caught in her throat. It was only a matter time until Danny's endurance ran out.

"It's just a ghost, I don't see why we should help it," Maddie growled. Donned in her familiar hazmat suit, she too glared at the tv but for a different reason entirely. She despised the recent attention Phantom had gathered.

"Let's try catch him instead. This is the perfect opportunity to rid the streets of that putrid protoplasm..." Jack's loud voice faded at the end of his sentence. He sounded hesitant and confused. He wasn't smiling or excited at the opportunity to catch the ghost kid. Maddie frowned. For the past few days, Jack had been withdrawn and quiet. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Wait Jack. We can't go out there yet. That weather ghost is causing mayhem. We need backup before we try take it down. As much as I hate to admit it, we need the Guys in White for this one,"

"But Mom the GiW will target Da-Phantom too. He's protecting us! You both saw him save that family didn't you? Phantom is not the enemy here, Vortex is!" Jazz argued trying to block Maddie from reaching the phone.

"Mrs F don't ya think the GiW would have arrived already anyway? I mean they pop up the minute a ghost appears. It's been four hours since Vortex started attacking. What makes you think they're gonna help now?" Tucker shifted from foot to foot, glancing at the tv every once and awhile.

"Besides, the GiW couldn't catch a ghost if it farted in their faces," Sam mused. Tucker smirked at her.

"Interesting choice of words there Sam," the two chuckled.

Maddie scrutinised the three teens. When the attack first started they had all rushed off, including Danny. She and Jack raced after them, but when they had caught up, Danny mysteriously disappeared. Maddie was worried sick. The only thing that stopped her from searching the streets was that Jazz assured her that Danny had went off to town's shield. They knew something that she didn't.

"Why are you so concerned about Phantom? What do you know? He's a ghost. Nothing more, nothing less," Maddie placed her hands on her hips.

"Phantom is being tortured on live television. How can you stand by and watch? After all he's done! And you still think he's evil? For once Mom, open your goddam eyes!" Jazz's fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles had gone stark white. "Please Mom…"

Maddie didn't really know what to say. Jazz had often argued with her and Jack about one thing or another, usually on the topic of ghosts. For the past few months their arguments had been centered on Phantom. Jazz refused to believe that Phantom was malevolent. It was a well-known fact, all ghosts were. The sooner Jazz accepted that, the better.

A particularly loud scream echoed from the tv. Vortex continued to wave Phantom around upside down while randomly shocking him. His hair was singed at the edges and sticking out at peculiar angles. Numerous gashes and burns dotted his body. Every now and then a white ring formed at his waist. Maddie was fascinated. She'd never seen it before.

Phantom screamed again.

"That's it! I can't stand by and watch this! Sam, Tucker we're going in. Nothing you say can stop us Mom," a small tear slid down Jazz's cheek.

"Jasmine Fenton! You will not leave this house. Why can't you understand? There is no such thing as 'good' ghosts. The minute Phantom is free he'll turn on you!"

"No Mom, you don't understand! Ghosts are like people. There's good people, and then there's bad people. You can't paint them all with the same brush. Ghosts do have emotions. They feel happiness, they feel sadness and loneliness. They can feel other things than just anger and rage. Don't you dare bother to say that they don't. You've never talked to a ghost without a gun shoved in their face! Can you hear him screaming? You think he's faking that?" Jazz turned on her heel and rushed out of the kitchen. Sam and Tucker followed wordlessly.

Jack had remained uncharacteristically silent. He sat slouched at the table, gaze fixed on the tv screen.

"Maddie I think we should help them rescue Phantom. Jazz seemed so certain… Maybe she really does know more than we do. Phantom is a ghost, but he looks so young. He could even be Danny's age and I can't imagine anything happening to Jazz or Danny," he looked up, blue eyes stormy with emotion. Maddie's mind reeled. Jack never compared ghosts to humans. Ghosts had no humanity, they were just an impression, energy left behind.

Right? They can't feel pain, they don't have emotions…

"Jack?"

"I want to confirm something and I'll need to talk to Phantom, intact," Jack looked exhausted and weary. At night he would toss and turn. For the life of her Maddie couldn't figure out the cause of the sudden change in behaviour.

"Well we can hardly let those kids do the fighting for us. Come on let's go," Maddie weakly smiled, heading down to the basement. Jack went upstairs to the armory. Could all their research be wrong? Were they actually hunting sentient beings as Jazz so incessantly suggested? She shivered at the thought. Today she was going to get her facts straight, once and for all.

"Jazz wait! We're going to help don't go yet we need a plan if we want to get Phantom out!" Maddie yelled from the basement.

"Mom?" came an uncertain reply. Maddie finished kitting herself out and raced up the steps into the living room. What she saw surprised her.

"Do you even know how to use ecto-guns?"

Jazz, Sam and Tucker were dressed like a navy seal team. Each donned a Specter Deflector and a utility belt weighed down with weaponry. Sam was decked out with the Fenton Ghost Peeler. Tucker had numerous PDAs clipped to his belt and a Fenton Lipstick could be seen sticking up from a trouser pocket. And Jazz? Well Jazz looked ready to fight a war. Two Fenton Wrist Rays adorned her arms. A Fenton Bazooka and Fenton Anti-Creep Stick were strapped to her back. In her hand was the keys to Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle as Jack adequately called it.

"Don't worry Ms. F, if it's technology, Tucker Foley will always know how to use it,"

"Why are you talking in third person?" Sam arched an eyebrow "We've had practice. We can handle ourselves,"

"What changed your mind?" Jazz asked, her long red hair tied up.

"I want to get the facts, not some hypothesis. To do that, I need evidence directly from the source. I want to interview Phantom,"

"What?!" the three teens yelled.

"Jinx!" Tucker said before Sam stomped on his foot.

"Interview Da-Phantom? Like on those TV talk shows?" Jazz sounded incredulous.

"As silly as it seems, yes something like that. Look we can talk about this later. You know Phantom personally don't you," they nodded " Well if I don't get to talk to it- him- could you ask if he's willing to talk to me? Jack and I haven't really tried to negotiate with ghosts before, and Phantom probably won't trust us not to shoot him…"

"I know it's hard Mom. But all that 'research' you have believed didn't come from real ghosts. You could change the world with accurate information," Jazz grinned eyes brightening. Maddie for once in her life hoped that her old information was wrong. The happiness emanating from Jazz filled the room, Sam and Tucker were grinning like idiots. If they were wrong, it'd crush them. But then again, if they were right, what horrors had her and Jack been doing all this time? Her stomach churned uncomfortably. She was torn. If she was correct her daughter would suffer and if she was wrong, it meant she had experimented on sentient beings… She almost puked.

Jack lumbered down stairs, a spring in his step. He had most likely listened in. "So what's the plan?" he boomed. Maddie wanted answers, and she hoped to God that they could both survive the truth.

XxXxXxXx

"Why couldn't we have taken the GAV?" Jack whined as his shoe slipped into some sewage.

"We need to be stealthy Dad. A giant RV with Fenton plastered on the side is not stealthy. Especially if you're driving…"

"Aww Jazzy-Pants, what's wrong with my driving? Jack Fenton can be the stealthiest man in the country if he has to!"

"Seriously?! Why are you talking in third person?"

"What crawled up your butt and died Sam?" Tucker got another foot stomp.

Everyone was so composed. The teen's movements were urgent but had a certain familiarity to them. Maddie continued to listen in to the relaxed conversation. Jack had never shown fear to ghost hunting, but the teens seemed perfectly at ease carrying weapons almost as big as themselves. And then it clicked. They've done this before. She'd ask them about that later. Right now, her focus was on Jack.

"You kids go on ahead, I want to ask Jack something," Jazz shot her a worried look, but kept walking.

"Maddie?"

"Jack… What's bothering you? The past few days, you haven't been yourself," Maddie placed a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder.

"It's just, I'm confused about ghosts. The other day, Phantom called me Dad,"

"He did what?"

"I know. At first I thought it was a trick, but it doesn't add up. Phantom was lying on the roof of the Op Centre. He'd tripped the new ghost alarm, you know the silent one that connects to our phones? So I went up, real quiet and I yelled at him. 'Come here' or something like that, and he said 'Yeah Dad, coming' and when he saw me, he looked so frightened Maddie. I don't think he even meant to say what he said," Jack sighed glancing down at the gun in his arms. "I really do think he mistook me for his Dad, and I, I was about to shoot him Maddie. What if we're wrong? What if-,"

"Jack whatever happens, we'll get through this together. And any mistakes we've made we'll try to correct them," Maddie hugged him.

"Come on guys! Phantom needs our help! You can get all lovey-dovey later," Jazz yelled, her voice echoing in the sewer tunnel.

"We'll fix this Maddie, one step at a time," Jack smiled, breaking the hug. The two of them jogged back to the group. It was time to set things right.

XxXxXxX

"Is everything ready?"

"Yep," Sam nodded.

"Are the charges in place?"

"Yep," Tucker checked his PDA for the fourth time.

"Do we all know the plan? If we mess up-,"

"Jazz honey, calm down. We all know what to do. You really do care for Phantom don't you," it was more of statement rather than a question. Maddie pulled her hood up. She fastened her goggles in place.

"Well, he's kinda like a second little brother," Jazz admitted. Sam and Tucker spun around with identical looks of confusion on their faces.

"Eh yeah, he's a friend. We all like, hang out and stuff," Tucker got elbowed in the ribs.

"Sometimes we help him, you know, after ghost attacks. He's nearly always injured or needs a nap," Sam said.

"Ghosts sleep?" Maddie asked. What else did she not know? And how much time had they spent with Phantom without her knowledge?

"Em no, Phantom is just a little different that's all," Jazz glared at Sam.

"Is there different species of ghost?"

The teens shared a look.

"Kinda?" Tucker answered, unsure of himself.

Interesting. When this was all over, Maddie had some serious research to do.

"Here's the manhole," Jack pointed out. He lifted the lid and climbed out, hauling a sack full of ghost hunting gear up after him. Jazz followed. Maddie was last up. She gripped the rusty ladder. After this she'd know; either her kids and their friends were being manipulated or she and Jack had been wrong all their lives...

Showtime.

XxXxXxXx

Danny felt like he was on fire. Everywhere hurt. The blood had rushed to his head and he knew that he was going to get sick if he hung upside down for much longer. The foot that Vortex had grabbed was numb.

"Had enough yet?"

Danny gritted his teeth. He was so tired, he just wanted the pain to stop.

"It's the Fentons!" an excited yell erupted from the crowd. Huh. Fenton. That's nice- wait crap Fenton. He opened his eyes. Stepping out of a manhole, his father appeared. Jazz came up after him with Sam and Tucker in tow. His mother was the last one to emerge from the manhole, replacing the lid as she did so. At least they were all right. He eyed the pile of weapons gathered at their feet. This was not going to end well. Danny weakly struggled, he tried to turn intangible, but he just couldn't focus enough.

"Stop squirming," another shock pulsed through him. He really hated electricity.

"Vortex put Phantom down right now!" Maddie yelled, her voice amplified with a megaphone. Boy, she sounded mad.

"And why would I do that?" Vortex replied. Danny was sure if he had the energy to look up, he'd see a cocky grin.

"We will fire," the five of them all pointed their weapons, with Vortex in the crosshairs.

"You'll hit Phantom as well, but I highly doubt that you'll care,"

A murmur went through the crowd. A crinkly old man spoke.

"Shoot them both! Those ghosts only cause trouble in this town,"

"Phantom saved my kids last week! Don't shoot," a woman cried out.

"It's him or us. You have to pull the trigger! No one else will save us now, and Phantom can't protect us. Look at him! He's barely awake!" another man shouted.

"You'd be like that too if you were repeatedly shocked with lightning!" someone else hollered.

"Is this how we repay him? By shooting him?"

"Repay him? For what? Damaging our houses, putting our children in danger? My daughter broke her arm in an attack. Now she can't play piano anymore!"

"It's not Phantom's fault!"

"Why do you think the ghosts come here in the first place? To attack Phantom. This town is caught in the crossfire!"

Soon the crowd was divided, both sides screaming and yelling at each other. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Danny felt a small surge of relief and gratitude. The majority of the town defended him.

"Everybody shut up!" Jazz screeched through the megaphone. The noise died down.

"Reminder to self, don't piss off Jazz," Danny smirked. His sister looked livid. Sam was equally enraged. Tucker was fiddling with his PDA. A cord connected it to the sack of weapons at his Dad's feet. Hm, they had a plan. He relaxed ever so slightly.

"We all need to work together! That includes helping Phantom," a small uproar broke out "Quiet and let me finish! My Dad is passing out some weapons. All you have to do is pull the trigger. They won't harm humans, just don't get it in your eyes or anything. Tucker has calibrated the weapons. They will not affect Phantom. I repeat they will not hurt Phantom. Everybody fire on my signal,"

"What?!" Vortex's grip tightened and Danny yelped as his foot was crushed. The hum of live weapons filled the air.

"Ready!" Vortex back-peddled. He threw Danny in front of him.

"Fire!" the order came a split second later. Dozens of shots of green ecto-energy hurtled through the air. Just before they collided into him, Danny felt the distinct pull of the Fenton Thermos. He didn't fight it. The last thing he saw before he got sucked in was Vortex being pelted with weapons fire.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny gasped as he tumbled out of the thermos. He hated it in there, he could feel his body, but couldn't see it, couldn't touch it and certainly couldn't move it. It was very disorientating to say the least.

"Jazz?" his voice was hoarse. His throat was raw from screaming. Jazz passed him a drink. He greedily gulped it down.

"What happened?" he asked. He realised that he was inside the ghost shield. It was still packed with people. Lightning continuously clashed against the shield causing sparks to fly everywhere.

"Well Vortex got away, but we did a number on him. He's retreated up into the clouds. You know, I think we made him mad," Jazz grinned as another bolt of lightning slammed into the shield.

"Was anyone hurt?"

Jazz sighed "Worry about yourself for once. No, you're the only person injured,"

Danny smiled. He lay back onto the tarmac.

"Don't suppose you got any ectoplasm?" Being half ghost, replenishing his energy reserves had become a nightmare. Danny ate a lot before, now he ate like a horse. For the first month after the accident no matter how much he ate, he always felt hungry. When he had accidentally eaten ectoplasm samples that had been in the fridge, the hunger vanished. As a result he often went into the Ghost Zone to find springs full of ectoplasm. He hid what he brought back in his bedroom wall.

Sam found it hilarious that Danny basically needed to consume a substance that could kill a normal person to survive. He'd bring the ectoplasm to school in metal coffee mugs. The stench of it would saturate the lunchroom, to the disgust of the other students. It didn't bother Sam and Tucker as they were used to it and Danny drank the stuff. Mr Lancer had gone nuts trying to find the source of the smell, but by then it was digesting in Danny's ghostly stomach. His farts were absolutely deadly. Tucker affectionately called him 'Gas-ass' and Sam would carry around a bottle of Lynx deodorant.

"Hey Sam! Bring over some of that ectoplasm!"

Sam clomped over and Danny's nose wrinkled at the odour of her combat boots.

"What were you doing? Walking around in dog crap?"

"Nope, this charming smell comes directly from Amity's sewers. Why you like it?" Sam smirked and gave him a flask.

"Where'd you get this?" he peered into the flask. A glowing green liquid bubbled within. He took a sip.

"Wow Sam, this is really pure. I'm going to enjoy drinking this stuff," Danny had another gulp. He could feel the energy settling in his stomach and his core began to buzz with contentment.

"Sam are you sure that it's okay to give him that?" Jazz frowned. Huh? Not give him this divine beverage?

"What's wrong with ya Jazz?" he giggled. She looked funny he thought to himself. Sam and Jazz shared a glance. Ha now they both looked funny. He tilted his head upwards.

"The sky is green!"

"Danny?" Sam asked hesitantly. Sam. Sam is a boy's name, but Sam is a girl. That's weird.

"Sam why do you have boy's name? Wait Jazz! You have some music named after you!" he hiccuped.

"Sam! What did you give him? He's acting all loopy. We can't let anyone see him like this! It's as if he's drunk!"

"Don't blame me! When I got it off Dora she was chugging it down like there was no tomorrow. How was I supposed to know it would have this effect on Danny?"

"Maybe it's too pure, after all Danny is only half ghost," Jazz anxiously looked around. She was surprised that no one had noticed that Danny was out of the Thermos.

"Jazz look at his wounds, I've never seen them heal so fast," Sam gently inspected the foot that Vortex had crushed. She pulled Danny's boot off. The skin was mottled with bruises but the bones no longer seemed broken.

Danny didn't even seem to realise that Sam was grasping his injured foot. He had totally zoned out and was describing less than desirable traits of the people he could see within the shield.

"He's insulting everyone in sight!" Jazz shouted to nobody in particular. She grabbed her hair and tugged at it nervously.

"He won't heal as fast if we put him in the Thermos, anyway, you know how much he hates it in there," Sam smacked Danny after he said that Mr. Lancer was akin to 'an unsavoury bald blob of flesh'.

"What do we do? More than a quarter of the people here despise Phantom and if Mom or Dad see him like this, any progress we've made might as well get thrown out of the proverbial window," the redhead warily scanned the mass of people for her brightly dressed parents.

"I think we should knock him out," Sam pushed her friend back down to the tarmac as he had unknowingly hovered off the ground.

"Sam!"

"What Jazz?! I don't think we have any other choice right now, at the moment I wouldn't trust him not to accidentally change form," Sam reasoned.

Jazz grimaced as her brother asked if he could eat the ground and get a skateboard. Sam gave her a pointed look.

"Okay, okay you win. How do we knock him out?"

Sam said nothing. She grabbed the flask out of Danny's hand and shoved it in his face.

"Drink!" She ordered as she poured the potent ectoplasm down his throat. Danny spluttered but did as he was told. There was no point in trying to argue with Sam. The drained flask was discarded and Danny promptly collapsed onto the ground with a look of contentment. His eyelids fluttered shut and audible snores rumbled from his chest. His ghostly aura glowed so bright that he lit up like a light bulb.

"What the hell Sam! How was giving him more of the stuff going to help?" Jazz cried out as her brother snoozed peacefully, unaware that he was acting as an unintended bug zapper, except he was attracting the attention of people, rather than moths.

"What's Phantom doing?" A young woman asked. They crowded around Danny as if he was an exhibit in a museum. A little girl poked him before her mother pulled her away.

"Why is he glowing?" Tucker stepped forward from the crowd, Maddie and Jack trailed behind.

"Eh.. He's just healing you know, he was pretty badly hurt," Sam replied. The mob of people jostled closer, curious.

"Whoa, everybody stand back! Give him some room," Maddie intervened sternly. Jack bulldozed his way to Danny, creating a barrier against the swarm of inquisitive citizens. Reluctantly they stepped back a few paces.

"I want to ask you guys some questions," said Maddie as she sat down on the tarmac. Jack followed suit, sitting right beside Danny. Sam and Jazz shifted uncomfortably.

"Firstly, how do you all know Phantom?"

"He saved us from a ghost once," Jazz lied smoothly. While her body language was calm, internally she was jittery. They couldn't screw up now. The town was rudely listening in, wanting to hear gossip or juicy facts about the Ghost Boy.

"All of you?"

"Yeah, we were walking to my house and Jazz had tagged along to borrow a book from my grandmother's library. A ghost appeared out of nowhere and started attacking us. Phantom swooped in and fought it off," Sam added.

"He got beat up pretty bad, so we helped him with his injuries as a thank you. We all kinda hit it off and soon we were out catching ghosts with him. At first he wouldn't let us help him with the ghosts, he kept going on and on about how dangerous it was, but as you know, we're stubborn," Tucker contributed to their tale. A disapproving murmur rippled through the onlookers of the conversation.

"You hunt ghosts?" Maddie raised an eyebrow and frowned. Jack grinned and announced that they could be his sidekicks.

"Samantha Manson! YOU DO WHAT?!" Sam groaned as her parents pushed their way to the front. Both of them were red in the face, indignant anger radiating off them. Tucker's parents popped up behind them. They didn't look rather impressed either.

"Crud," Sam and Tucker responded together.

XxXxXxXxX

Maddie watched as Sam and Tucker were dragged off by their respective parents. She saw Jazz cringe at the high pitch of Pamela Manson's voice.

"Mom?"

"Yes Jazz?"

"What are we gonna do now? Vortex is still out there and Phantom is out cold. I don't know when he's going to wake up… We don't have the advantage of surprise anymore. Vortex won't let us sneak up on him again and will probably be keeping a close eye on the sewers," Jazz bit her nail worriedly.

"If Phantom doesn't wake up in an hour, we'll start making plans. Keep this quiet, but the shield can only stay active for ten hours. It's been in use for nearly five. The Guys in White should have intervened by now, I don't know why they haven't responded," Maddie whispered, marvelling at how bright Phantom was glowing. She nodded in his direction.

"Does he do that often?" She asked.

"The glowing? Nope, Sam just gave him really pure ectoplasm. I'm a little concerned, he's never done this before," Jazz admitted.

They sat there in silence keeping an eye on Phantom and protecting him from overly curious teenagers and adults alike. Time ticked by and Maddie grew restless and nervous. The answers to all her questions was lying asleep right beside her. She checked her watch. As the sluggish hour passed, the Ghost Boy started to stir.

Maddie jumped up in fright as Phantom raised an arm to scratch his forehead. Jazz chuckled and got to her feet.

"Phantom? Come on, you have to get up," She coaxed. A muffled 'Five more minutes' was her reward. Maddie smiled, he was just like Danny in the morning.

He blearily cracked an eye, and immediately sprung into action upon spotting Maddie.

"Ahh!" He yelped, shooting upwards into the air and slamming into the roof of the shield.

"OW!" His arms cradled his bruised head. Maddie's heart clenched. The second he saw her, he reacted with pure fear. He was terrified of her. It had never bothered her in the past, but now it stung.

"Phantom are you okay? You can come down, we have a truce. Mom and Dad aren't going to attack you, it's alright," Jazz called out to him. He nodded slowly and hesitantly hovered back down to the ground. Excited squeals erupted from the crowd. Phantom's cheeks gained a green tint. Was he blushing?

Sam and Tucker rushed towards him.

"Guys! What happened, I remember being sucked into the Thermos, but after that, it's hazy…" Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. Jazz glared at Sam and Tucker looked confused.

"I'll tell you later," Sam looked slightly abashed.

"Is it something to do with why I'm lit up like a light bulb?"

"Yeah…" Jazz replied. Maddie would have to ask her for the full details later.

A man stepped forward from the mob of people. The crinkly old man who had originally told Maddie to shoot Phantom stood behind him. This was probably not going to be pleasant…

"Phantom I see you're finally awake," he sneered. He took another menacing step forward. Phantom fidgeted uncomfortably. Sam and Tucker moved to stand beside him, but Jazz stopped them.

"He needs to sort this out himself. We'll step in if it gets too heated," she spoke quietly, and Maddie barely picked it up. She stood straighter as she noticed Phantom stiffen.

"Can I help you?" Phantom asked. The man grinned and reached out grabbing Phantom's neck in a single swift movement. He plowed onwards lifting Phantom off the ground and slamming him into the ghost shield's wall.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Maddie yelled at him as she made a move towards Phantom but was blocked. She scanned the scowling faces. These people were the ones that didn't care if Phantom was shot or not. They cut Maddie off from reaching him and she could see Jazz, Jack, Tucker and Sam getting the same treatment.

Phantom looked surprised and his hands went to his vulnerable neck, trying to relive the harsh man's grip. Maddie's eyes widened when she realised what Phantom was doing. He remained in the man's hold, only resisting with his own hands on his neck. He didn't kick or squirm and he wouldn't use his ghost abilities. If he fought back, he could cause a riot where innocent bystanders would get caught in the crossfire. Her perception of a ghost would never react in this manner.

"Let him go!" Sam viciously struck out, not caring who was at the receiving end of her combat boots. She started throwing punches until some brave soul managed to restrain her arms.

Phantom's supporters in the crowd pushed against those who didn't. People who didn't sit on either side of the fence awkwardly hung around the outside, carefully trying not to get shoved out of the shield.

"W-hat d-do you wan-t?" Phantom choked out fingers desperately trying to relieve the pressure on his throat. Ghosts didn't need to breathe… or so Maddie had assumed. She gasped as his face started earning a blue tint. He needed oxygen. The man holding Phantom dropped him as if he'd been burned. The ghost stumbled to his knees, coughing before sucking in air like a fish out of water.

"You breathe?" He asked unintelligently "Whatever, I'm here to tell you to get your lazy ghost ass in gear! Look at the damage Vortex did to the town while you had your handy little nap. My house is destroyed because of you! All my possessions are done for, hell, my grandma's ashes are gone. She was very important to me and I'll never get them back!" The man screamed in Phantom's face. Phantom recoiled, colliding with the shield.

"I tried my best!" Phantom's voice sounded more confident than he looked. He was still half crumpled on the ground, hand shaped bruises darkening his tanned neck.

"That's your best?!" The man moved to strike the ghost kid at his feet in rage. Phantom must of turned intangible instinctively because the attacking man's fist sailed right through him. The man tumbled forward, losing his balance. As if time had slowed down, everyone watched in horror as the he passed through the shield, smashing onto the concrete on the other side.


	5. Chapter 5

The man had tumbled forward a good two to three meters away from the shield. He sat up after an agonisingly long wait, a hand to his head. A faint trickle of blood dribbled from a cut on his forehead.

"What?" He mumbled trying to get to his feet. Danny recognised the signs. Disorientation, head wound… The man probably had a concussion. And it's my fault. Danny shook his head, it had been in self defence, he was still worked up from the beating he got from Vortex. Every time Vortex had punched him, he had gotten painfully shocked afterwards. He just reacted, he didn't want to get hurt again… but it was still his fault.

"Get back in here before Vortex sees you!" he hissed. The man blearily looked at him and scowled.

"Why should I listen to you?" the man slurred. Definitely concussed. He must have hit the ground headfirst, with all of his bodyweight landing squarely on his head. The clouds rumbled threateningly above. Danny pushed against the shield, though, he knew he could do nothing in this form. It was a ghost shield, and not letting ghosts through was its function. Danny tested it again, remaining unsuccessful.

He turned around pleadingly. No one moved. Lightning flashed and Danny flinched. Lightening equals electricity and electricity equals pain. Lots and lots of pain.

"I can't pass through, he has a concussion, someone needs to drag him in here before Vortex notices!" he worriedly glanced back. The concussed man continued to sit there, eyes dull. Still no one moved a muscle. The old crinkly guy from the crowd who despised him turned his beady eyes to him. Danny gulped, recognising him. It was his grumpy neighbour from across the street. His name was John, or something like that, and he loathed his parents and their work as much as he loathed ghosts. John glared at the halfa, pointing a long bony finger.

"Bring him in here so you can just get revenge ghost?! Why don't you just you go defeat that rampaging Vortex so we wouldn't be here in the first place! " He spat, distain lacing his scratchy voice. "We're not safe in this shield as long as Phantom is in here with us. You all saw what he did! That man over there is hurt because of that filthy ghost," he shoved his glasses further up his nose.

What was this guy's problem? Instead of helping his like minded comrade, he was rallying to get Danny kicked out. It hurt, how people distrusted him so much, automatically lumping him into the same category as hardcore criminals. It was black and white to them, he was ghost (at least half of one, but they didn't need to know that) so he was a filthy creature that should be hunted and killed.

His discomfort probably showed on his face. Sam locked eyes with him. She glared hatefully at the old man before nodding towards the jerk sitting outside of the shield. He saw a glimpse of metal grasped in her hand. The Thermos.

He nodded back to her and Sam burst into action. She stomped on the person who was holding her, before kneeing him in the crotch. The guy fell to his knees, whimpering and Danny couldn't help but cringe. Sam turned her attention to the woman trying to grab at her, she caught the woman's arm and twisted. Danny winced. Sam was in a very volatile mood.

The telltale blue light of the Thermos shot towards him and he felt himself getting sucked into the Thermos for the second time that day.

He was ungracefully spewed out of the Thermos, rolling forward and landing in a heap. The rain that Vortex had caused pelted down on him and he was soaked in seconds. Speaking of Vortex, said ghost poked his head out from the clouds, a grin splitting his face upon spotting Danny. Typical, the second Danny left the safety of the shield, Vortex was there and ready for round two.

Vortex raced towards him, electricity sparking at his fingertips. Danny braced himself, he was not getting beaten this time, he was ready. At the very last second, Vortex whizzed by, laughing cruelly he shot towards the jerk of a man. The Ghost Boy cursed, zooming after him.

He surprised himself when he rocketed past Vortex, leaving the weather ghost in the dust. He stood protectively in front of the man, arms out, prepared to attack. And attack he did. Bright green balls of ectoplasm materialised in his palms, sizzling with energy. He threw them with deadly accuracy, each one hitting their target. Patches of smoke rose off of where Vortex was hit. This was weird, Danny wasn't that powerful, last time he fought Vortex one of the only reasons why he had won was because he had temporarily gained weather powers.

Vortex had been careful not to make the same mistake twice.

It had been awhile since he fought the ghost, but it didn't explain the buzz of power he could feel coursing through him. Maybe it was something to do with why he was glowing like a human sized bug zapper...

The weather ghost snarled in pain. A bolt of lightning fired, heading straight for Danny. Oh no, not the damn lightning. He panicked, hands stretched out defensively in front of him and a greenish white shield conjured into existence. The lightning was harmlessly absorbed into the shield. What? He'd figure this out later. Feeling more confident, Danny smirked at Vortex, who scowled.

"Hey Vortex, you hear about the story of the tornado? There was a twist at the end! He grinned, cracking his knuckles. Payback time.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Maddie gasped in shock as she saw Sam break free, sucking Phantom into the Thermos before releasing him on the outside of the shield. The two unlucky people who were holding her at the time nursed their wounds. Maddie knew that Sam was spirited, but she was not expecting that. Sam had not been clumsy in her attempt, the second she got an opening (the guy had lifted one hand to scratch his head) she struck. Decisively and effectively.

Sam unclipped an ecto blaster from her belt, determinedly stomping through the crowd of people to the shield's perimeter. She ignored her parent's insistent yells and demands. Movement to Maddie's left alerted her that Tucker had broken free as well. He too marched to the shield's edge, charged ecto weapon in hand.

Maddie dropped into a stance, easily knocking away her captor's grip on her. She pushed her way to Sam and Tucker, liberating Jack and Jazz on her journey. (Jack had been dog piled, taking more than five people to keep him still)

"I take it that you're going out to help Phantom?" Maddie asked, watching in awe as Phantom safely reflected a bolt of lightning. He seemed faster, more powerful than before.

"Yep, we've done this loads of times, don't worry about us. You should get the jerk though, make him apologise or something first. Danny is risking his neck for that dipwad," Sam growled. She activated the Fenton Ghost Peeler, armour extending from the device and encasing her body.

"Oh don't worry, I will," Maddie promised. It didn't rest well with her at all that she was letting the kids fight, but she had to admit, they knew what they were doing. When they had first opened fire on Vortex, Sam and Tucker had both scored bullseyes. Jazz's aim was a little questionable, but she was lethal with the Jack-O-Nine Tails as Jack had taught her how to defend herself.

"Let's go!" The trio took off, not even pausing as they left the safety of the ghost shield. Sam and Tucker were already shooting at Vortex, their aims accurate. Whenever Vortex tried to retaliate, Phantom got in the way, cutting the ghost off. Vortex flew upwards, trying to gain the advantage of higher ground, but Phantom forced him back down and into the range of the three teens below. They launched an aggressive attack, peppering Vortex with potent ecto blasts.

It was incredible. The teamwork between them, it was fluid and precise, their movements in sync with each other's. Phantom kept assaulting Vortex from above, throwing ecto blasts, ice and physically hitting the weather ghost. Distracted by Phantom, Vortex was left open to attacks from Sam and Tucker. Jazz got in dangerously close, catching Vortex's tornado like tail in the Jack-O-Nine Tails, giving Vortex a piece of his own medicine and shocking him with the weapon.

Vortex lunged for Jazz, but she neatly rolled away, abandoning the still active Nine Tails. Vortex ripped the device off his tail, throwing it at Phantom, who nimbly dodged. The four of them relentlessly attacked Vortex, not giving him room to move. If the ghost singled out one target, the other three would immediately zero in on him.

Jack fidgeted beside Maddie. He wanted to jump into the fight, his finger itched on the trigger of his gun. He took a step forward, but Maddie tugged him back.

"I don't like seeing those kids fighting anymore than you do, but they know what they're doing. They know each other. If we barge in there we'll just be a nuisance. We don't know their fighting style and they don't know ours. One thing is for certain, we are going to have a very long chat with them when this is all over," Jack nodded, visibly deflating. He stood still for a second, before startling Maddie when he suddenly burst, yelling and cheering the kids on in his loud, boisterous voice. It was catchy and soon others joined him, screaming their support. Vortex, who had caused so much damage and fear in such a short time, was losing to a bunch of teenagers and a single ghost.

Seeing as she didn't have to worry, Maddie turned her attention to the man who had threatened Phantom. He looked more alert of his surroundings and was watching the fight. Maddie strode towards him, taking long menacing strides. She was furious, because of this idiot her daughter was in the middle of fight against a malevolent ghost, a dangerous one at that.

"YOU! What did you think you were doing!" She yelled, her voice thunderous. The man paled, and scrambled backwards. Maddie grasped the front of his shirt and unceremoniously dragged him into the ghost shield. She glared daggers at him and the man shrank away from her.

"I didn't do anything! Look at what Phantom did to me! I'm the victim here," a little of the man's previous backbone had returned to him. Maddie was going to squash it. He could act all high and mighty because Phantom probably wouldn't have retaliated, but Maddie had no qualms about punching the dude if he tried the same thing with her. She fought ghosts for a living, a mere human wasn't going to scare her.

The man stood up, shaking himself off.

"What is your problem lady, jeez. Wait a minute, you're one of those jumpsuit wearing nut job Fenton ghost hunters aren't you?"

"For your information, I am not a 'nut job'. What is your name?" Maddie snarled, resenting the nut job comment. She felt fury bubbling within her. Her baby Jazz could get hurt fighting, and she knew if she tried to help she'd get in way. She wanted to hit something or someone… and it didn't particularly matter which.

"Marvin,"

"Okay Marvin, I'm going to give you some sound advice, now listen closely. DON'T EVER PROVOKE A GHOST THAT HAS ENOUGH POWER TO TURN YOU TO MUSH WITHOUT SO MUCH AS LIFTING A FINGER. ESPECIALLY IF HE IS THE ONE SAVING YOUR SORRY ASS!" Maddie roared, slugging the guy in the face.

"That was for Phantom," she added. While she didn't trust Phantom yet, she had promised Sam that she would get payback and Maddie Fenton didn't break her promises.


	6. Chapter 6

"Whoa Maddie, that was awesome. And scary. Definitely scary," Jack stood in awed shock, carefully observing his enraged wife. Maddie had broken Marvin's nose in a single punch. Blood streamed down his face, dripping onto his Hollister hoodie.

"You broke my nose you bit-" he was cut off by Maddie raising her fist threateningly into the air.

"Are you going to learn your lesson?" She glared and Marvin stumbled backwards, hand gingerly inspecting his shattered nose.

"Eh yes ma'am," he stuttered, nervously eyeing her. John, Maddie's neighbour who lived directly across the street from the Fenton household, grabbed Marvin's arm and pulled him safely out of range. He scowled at her with arrogant disapproval. Their last encounter hadn't exactly been civil…

"Madeleine I see you have not changed since last time we spoke," John's voice was rough with age. He must have been at least in his mid seventies. What was left of his hair was wispy and wiry.

"John," Maddie ground out. She had gotten into an argument with him, on the grounds of the 'proper role of a woman". Inventor, ghost hunter and martial artist were just the tip of the iceberg. Maddie had a wide range of talents and various PhDs. She loved learning and wanted to be able to do her own thing. Her nosy neighbour didn't approve.

John was bitter, old and alone. His wife had divorced him. He firmly believed that a woman's job was to stay home and be the perfect wife. Seeing Maddie running around with bazookas and chasing after dangerous ghosts did not fit into that particular mindset. He had rudely confronted her and Maddie destroyed him. Her yelling had been so loud that the other neighbours on the street had peered out of their houses to watch.

Eventually Jack had intervened, but not before telling John where he could shove his ideals. Round one had went to Maddie. Since then, they had been waging a war.

"Are you going to get rid of those ghosts or is it children that do the fighting these days?" he sneered.

"I have full faith in Phantom and the kids. They have the situation handled and if needed, Jack and I can jump in," Maddie responded cooly. Don't hit the old man, don't hit the old man…

"Trusting ghosts are you? You're too soft to be a ghost hunter. Phantom won't show any mercy when he comes to kill you," John replied, sounding very sure of himself.

"And what do know of ghosts?" Maddie said icily. Her violet eyes narrowed behind her goggles.

"Plenty more than you do if you're helping Phantom," he grinned as Maddie stiffened with rage. That smug bastard.

"Can you create a portal into another dimension? Did you invent the protective shield that is currently keeping us all alive? Can you tell me the core elements of ectoranium? What energy frequency is used to track ghosts? How do ghosts achieve invisibility and intangibility? How do you differentiate between unique ecto signatures?" Maddie ranted barely pausing for a breath. John turned red, as he realised they had an audience.

"Burn!" some random teenager yelled from the crowd. John turned up his crooked nose and walked off. Snickering followed him as he tugged Marvin along. Maddie grinned. She'd won this round.

XxXxXxX

Danny flew to the side as Vortex's clawed hand sailed past him. He froze the offending appendage and Vortex drew it back in surprise.

"It's a little chilly today, you better wrap up," Danny shot a ball of ice towards Vortex hitting him in the chest. The ice expanded encasing Vortex's chest. The ghost growled using his weather powers to melt the ice. Tucker pelted Vortex with the Fenton Lipstick and Sam used the Fenton Peeler, skimming Vortex's side as the ghost managed to twist out of the way. Danny narrowly avoided it.

"Sam! Watch where you're firing that thing!" He yelled.

"Sorry!" She said, blasting Vortex with an ecto gun.

"YOU STUPID FLESHLINGS!" Vortex growled. He was getting his ass kicked by humans. Puny teenage humans. He roared launching ecto blasts left and right. Jazz who had been fiddling with her wrist ray looked up startled as ecto blasts shot straight for her.

Vortex grinned and fired off some more before being hit by both Sam and Tucker at the same time. Danny rushed to intercept but he was too far away.

"JAZZ!" He screamed, ice pulsed from his hands, creating a dome protecting his sister from the incoming fire. Not pausing to figure out the new ability, Danny aimed for Vortex. The weather ghost was covered in seconds with ice energy. He was frozen solid, his body falling to the ground with a loud clunk.

"Danny is that a new power?" Jazz asked from inside her dome, inspecting the barrier.

"Yeah I guess. I've been feeling weird since I woke up though," Danny stared at his hands in wonder. He could make ice shields, and from a distance too. He grinned, he was going to like this new skill.

The ice must have been stronger than before, as Vortex was having trouble getting free. As he succeed in freeing his head, Sam uncapped the Thermos, blue light enveloping the struggling ghost.

"I'LL GET YOU LITTLE SH-" he was cut off before he could finish.

Danny smirked. "Now that won't do anything for your shining personality," the clouds cleared as quickly as they'd come. Cheers radiated from the ghost shield and Jack deactivated it.

The citizens of Amity Park spread out into the sunshine, breathing a collective sigh of relief. They were still shaken from the scare. Despite the happiness, there was a worried undertone.

What if Phantom hadn't won?

They had always assumed that their hero would save them time and time again. He was dead, with nothing better to do, they supposed.

How wrong they were.

Danny sighed as he floated down to the ground, landing beside Jazz. She patted him on the back.

"Good job little brother,"

"Meh, I got kicked around the first time round, thanks guys, a lot. I owe you,"

"You could sign my face so all the girls would love me," Tucker asked hopefully.

"You don't owe us anything," Sam retorted. Tucker jumped away in time and escaped. Sam settled for flipping his beret off his head.

Maddie and Jack came up to them, with the town in tow.

"OMG that was so cool! Phantom has sidekicks! I wanna be one!" A squeal erupted from the crowd. Maddie pulled out the megaphone again and shushed the excitable crowd.

"Eh, I should em get going, you know with this," Danny gratefully accepted the Thermos shoved into his hands. He hated dealing with crowds and his parents were there. He didn't want to answer any questions. He knew his mother was getting suspicious that Phantom was different biology wise from other ghosts. He took to the sky.

And then came crashing down.

White hot pain bloomed across his chest. He looked up from where he'd came plummeting. He gulped, staring into the barrel of a gun.

"Phantom, you're coming with us," Agent K ordered, scowling at Danny. His blood ran cold. How could he have not seen them?

The Guys in White aren't exactly known for being the stealthy type, much like his Dad for charging in with all guns blazing.

More agents appeared, surrounding him. Sam had already attacked one of the agents, her arms and legs were tightly restrained. Jazz and Tucker tried to help her, but suffered the same fate.

"You have nowhere to run this time Ghost Boy. If you try escape, we'll break the kid's arm," K pointed to Tucker, who paled instantly as if someone had mentioned a hospital.

"He's human though!" Danny cried out. Seriously!? They were targeting people to get to him? His stomach lurched uncomfortably. He raised his hands to his head. This was so wrong, they'd experiment on him, torture him!

The town of Amity Park watched as he was forced to stand up, forgotten Thermos laying on the ground. They were frozen with fear. The agents had guns with real bullets. Bullets designed for humans.

Danny silently freaked out. Oh God, Oh God, crap,crap,crap,crap …

They had him, they finally caught him. Agent K walked behind him, pressing the muzzle of his gun painfully into his back, pushing him forward.

A large armoured white van was neatly parked beside a battered car from Vortex's rampage. Danny felt numb. He was terrified. He wanted to flee, fly, run away. But he couldn't. They'd hurt Tucker and Sam and Jazz...

Time slowed down, though Clockwork was not the cause. Danny moved, but it felt like slow motion. The van got bigger, closer. His heart quickened. He was alive, he was human and they were going to…

Don't think about it.

He almost locked up on the spot. He didn't want this. He was so scared, yet he kept a brave face. He risked turning his head and his eyes accidentally locked with his mother's. He was so, so scared. Help me Mom. Fear consumed him. Cold, colder than his ice core.

One step, two steps, three steps. His boots crunched on cracked glass from a broken shopfront window. Ten metres away. The sun shone and the birds chirped.

Eight metres.

His heart thumped, far faster than it had ever while in ghost form. He was human too…

But they didn't care. Tucker's arm was locked in a painful position. Live weapons were aimed at the crowd. They didn't care.

Danny did stop this time, chilled to the bone. They didn't care, it didn't matter. He wanted to cry, to scream. To do anything than walk forward to the van. The gun dug into his back. A shaky leg moved.

Six metres.

He would not cry, he refused too. This was not going to end like this. The second the hostages are released, he'd escape. Plan. Plan. How was he going to escape? His back ached.

There was at least twenty agents. Five had their guns cocked towards spectators, two were holding Sam and one each was restraining Tucker and Jazz.

The rest had their sights on his head.

Four metres. No one moved. No one spoke. There was just the crunch of gravel and glass underneath his feet. The van doors opened. A cage awaited inside. His hands trembled. He glanced back again. The Thermos still lay forgotten, as if it didn't hold the ghost that had been attacking Amity for the last five hours. Jazz looked horrified, she might puke. Tucker showed fear that Danny had never seen on him before. Sam had tears streaming down her cheeks. She never cried.

Terror seized him, closing in around him. This was real, this was happening.

Would he see the light of day again? Would his parents ever know the truth?

One metre.


	7. Chapter 7

"Wait!" His mother yelled, shattering the oppressive silence. Danny halted gratefully mid step, daring to look back. Maddie had raised her hands slowly in the air and cautiously made her way towards him. The agents stiffened, but otherwise did not move.

"What do you want?" K asked harshly and Danny nearly snarled at him not to talk to his mother like that.

"As a fellow scientist, I would like to know what experiments you will be conducting," there was that word. Danny shivered. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think…

"I will not disclose that information to a civilian. Stand back and let us do our job," K snapped. The gun pressed to Danny's back slammed into him and he almost stumbled into the van. He back peddled, running straight into K.

Stars dazzled his vision as the butt of K's gun struck his head. He fell onto his hands and knees, stunned.

"What is your job?" Maddie boldly stepped forward and some of the agents cocked their guns in her direction. She didn't seem phased at the fact the live weapons had her in their crosshairs.

"To protect Amity Park from ghosts, and to capture and eliminate any ghost we discover," K recited ridgely.

Maddie arched an eyebrow "The people of Amity Park or the pavement? Because you haven't done a good job at either. There is a very powerful ghost right there in that Thermos and you're ignoring it," Maddie was confident, not a speck of fear embedded in her posture. She stood tall and not the slightest bit intimidated. Danny admired her. This strong, fearless person was his mother and despite the gun shoved in his face, lying on his hands and knees, he felt himself calm down. A trickle of ectoplasm ran down the side of his head. He lifted a hand to wipe it away.

K grabbed the offending arm and twisted. Danny yelped as his arm was wrenched behind his back.

"Don't you move ghost," K warned. Danny tried to stand up, to release the painful lock on his arm. K pushed him to the ground, face first.

"Is that really necessary?!" Maddie growled. She was defending him? What had Jazz and his friends said to her? Did she suspect?

"He is a ghost, nothing more nothing less," Danny saw his mother stiffen at K's answer.

"What if you're wrong?" Maddie's eyes narrowed as she studied K's reaction. The agent paused in his effort to haul Danny off the ground and turned to face her.

"What are you getting at?"

"You think all your current information on ghosts is correct. I did too. The underlying principles; ghosts cannot feel pain or emotion, but are known to attack people and all ghosts in existence are malevolent. This means that experimenting on live ghost subjects is not morally wrong. I have believed that for years, but in those years, we never actually studied real ghosts. It is all a hypnotises, and I think it's all wrong. When it boils down to it, we don't know a damn thing about ghosts, yet here we are, shooting them, capturing them and conducting experiments on them. We are harming sentient beings. I now realise my mistake, and I will not stand by and watch this injustice happen," Maddie's speech was loud and clear, she never hesitated.

Danny almost felt like crying right there and then. She didn't hate him, she wanted to protect him… The glow around Danny brightened, startling himself and the agents surrounding him.

The terrifying crack of a gun firing stirred Danny into action without thinking. His new ice power flowed from his hands, its blue light shooting towards the crowd before hardening into a thick barrier. Running at the same time, he dove in front his mother. He felt the burning pain of a bullet travel along his arm before he froze himself, halting the offending object in its tracks.

Melting the ice encasing him, Danny saw more than five bullets were lodged in the barrier sheltering the crowd. He blinked in disbelief.

"You fired into the crowd? There is innocent people in there! Hell I even saw some small kids! What were you idiots doing?!" Danny snapped at the agents, previous gut wrenching fear replaced by a burning rage. They shot at the crowd because he glowed.

He didn't even mean it and hadn't moved a muscle and they shot into the crowd…

"Mo-Maddie are you okay?!" He turned to his mother. She looked to be in one piece. He anxiously checked her for wounds. Nope. No holes, no blood. He nearly collapsed with relief. No one had gotten hurt.

"You just shot at us!" Pamela Manson roared from the crowd. "Release my daughter at once, she has nothing to do with this!"

K glared, getting to his feet. Danny had pushed him to the ground in his hurry. K charged up his weapon, cocking his weapon straight at Danny.

"You will surrender immediately!" He ordered.

"Maddie is standing right beside me, how do I know you're not gonna fire the second I move? You could still hit her! I'm not moving till you let go of the teenagers over there," Danny pointed to his friends and sister. They were held in death locks, limbs pinned in painful positions.

K continued to glare, black sunglasses covering his eyes. His jaw was set in a grim line.

"Let go of the kids," he relented. The agents compiled, dusting off their pristine white suits as if they had been holding something disgusting, rather than just a few teenagers. It made Danny sick. They were so arrogant and condescending, but he would never have guessed that the GiW would go to these extremes. His mind was still reeling. They shot at people. Living, breathing people. He moved to stand protectively in front of Maddie, arms outstretched ready to form a shield in an instant.

"Phantom how are you going to get out of this? You can't defend every person here, the barrier you made is already beginning to melt," Maddie whispered.

Her change of heart had felt like a weight had been lifted off Danny's shoulders. Even in this dire situation, where it would be so easy just to give him up and be done with it, Maddie still remained where she was, right in the thick of it.

A green glint caught his eye. He reflexively created a shield and the ectoblast harmlessly bounced off hitting the pavement, leaving a considerable burn mark. These weapons weren't like his parent's inventions. The agents didn't care who they hit, human or ghost. If that damage was done to concrete... Danny shuddered at the thought of what it'd do to him or his mother. No one was safe.

K sliced his hand through the air and all hell broke loose. Dangerously charged ecto blasts smashed into his shield. Panic seized him. The second he took his attention off holding the shield, they would be hit. He squeezed his eyes shut, blocking everything out. It was just him and then energy flowing around him.

It sizzled and sparked, fluctuating with the abuse. Ten seconds, the barrage kept coming.

Twenty seconds, his hands started shaking. Hit after hit. Second after second.

The noise was defending, energy colliding and impacting together. Maddie covered her ears. He wanted to drop his hands, his arms shook.

One minute passed. This was the longest Danny had ever been able to hold up a full body shield. He was aware of his mother's strong hands supporting his aching arms. The gun fire didn't end. Eyes still tightly clamped shut, he could vaguely hear yelling and screaming, but it seemed quiet, compared to the deafening noise of the guns.

Daring to look, all Danny saw was a world of green and black. The pavement outside of the shield was blackened, and in some places was beginning to melt from the extreme heat. If he dropped the shield even for a second…

Maddie would pay the price. Determination flared through him. He tugged his lead like arms high into the air, somehow finding the energy to reinforce the weakening shield. This wasn't going to happen again. He wasn't going to back down, he wasn't going to fail…

The pain of being struck by lightning paled in comparison to the agony of losing his mother. With all this fire converged on one place, there was no way a human would survive.

No. He won't let that happen, ever, as long as he lives.

"Phantom! You can't hold out for much longer, if you use all your power now, you'll never be able to escape," Maddie shouted and for the first time in his life Danny saw the smallest flicker of fear cross her face.

"What do you suggest?" He yelled back.

"You can go intangible. Drop the shield and get out of here," Maddie told him sternly. He shook his head wildly.

"I'm not leaving you, the second this shield goes down, you'll be vaporised!" He yelled. Maddie opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off "I'm not leaving you, we're gonna get out of this, together. Think of your family, your daughter, your son. I'm not letting anything happen to you," Danny's shield pulsed white with his emotions.

Maddie stared at him, shocked.

"Phantom? Why are you protecting me? After all I've done to you-"

"Maddie you don't deserve to die. You have people counting on you," Danny gently cut her off.

The world of green lessened, as the number of shots being fired diminished. The two of them peered outside of the shield, and were surprised at what they saw.

The people of Amity Park attacked the GiW agents ruthlessly. The agents were overwhelmed as Amity's citizens assaulted them, using their numbers to their advantage.

Their weapons were wrenched from their grasps. Danny lowered the shield, legs trembling. All of the energy gained from his nap and whatever had caused the mysterious glowing left him. His knees buckled and Maddie caught him before he hit the ground. Amity's police department arrived to the scene and took control. To his astonishment, the police didn't hesitate to arrest the agents, locking metal cuffs to their wrists.

The rowdy crowd soon calmed down, with police help. Maddie had carried him to the side to catch his breath, and to stay out of the madness.

The police chief, a greying fifty year old woman, growled into the megaphone that Maddie had been using earlier.

"Everybody calm down and stand still. We are going to get statements from you all, but we have video evidence of what has happened. Where is Phantom?" Her voice was gravelly but stern, full of authority. You didn't want to get on the Chief's bad side.

Danny shuffled forward, still feeling woozy. He nervously walked up to the Chief. The crowd had parted the way for him wordlessly.

"You know, I don't particularly like ghosts, but I think I'll make an exception for you son. You saved those people's lives, and nearly got captured by the GiW in doing so. As I said, we saw the whole thing. A Ghost Watch camera had survived the weather ghost's attack and was able to film the whole fiasco with the GiW. Thank you for defending Amity Park Mr. Phantom."

Danny gaped like a fish. The Chief hated ghosts, but here she was thanking him. The people around him cheered, laughing and smiling. Finally their ordeal was over, and the best part, Danny was certain that he was the only casualty.

"Wait! Don't forget the Fentons, Tucker and Sam. Without them, I doubt we would be here talking right now," Danny yelled over the celebrating crowd. The mentioned people walked up to him. Jazz's face was split into a massive grin, his Dad looked relieved. Sam rushed up to him and crushed him in a hug.

"Don't you ever do that again!" She commanded, breaking the bear hug and smacking him on the head.

"OW!"

"Haha you lovebirds," this time Tucker legged it and Sam gave chase. Danny laughed, joy bubbled up from his throat. They're safe. Alive.

He didn't fail them.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Maddie relaxed into her husband's comforting embrace. He shook with barely restrained tears.

"Maddie I thought I was going to lose you and I was so scared, Maddie I just can't I,I-"

"Jack, honey I'm okay, we're all okay," she soothed. She shook herself. If her hunch on Phantom had been wrong…

She'd be dead.

She'd taken an awful risk, trusting him to protect her. Phantom could have vanished, leaving her to be vaporised, yet he didn't. He held on, risking himself to save her. After all the things she said to him, all the times she threatened him, all the times she shot him and attacked him.

And still he saved her.

"Stubborn bastard," she muttered. Jazz came up from behind and glomped her.

"Mom don't you dare do that again!" Jazz yelled, arms tightly wrapped around Maddie. Three of them…

"Where's Danny?!" Maddie couldn't believe it, with all of the chaos she had forgotten to make sure he was okay…

She was a horrible mother.

"Mom, calm down, it's fine. When the ghost shield turned off, he went home to make sure the house wasn't damaged," Jazz spluttered, her words jumbled.

Maddie tilted her head questioningly "Jazz you're not lying to us are you?"

"Mom! Why would I lie about something as important as Danny's safety? Don't worry, he's alright. He made it to the ghost shield okay when the attack first started," Jazz assured her. Maddie accepted it for now. Jazz was mature and loved her brother, there is no way she'd lie about it. Maddie wondered what had compelled her to ask the stupid question in the first place.

"Sorry Jazz."

"You're just worried that's all,"

Maddie smiled warmly at her daughter. She loved her children with all her heart. Maybe that's the reason why she jumped into action. The look of pure terror on Phantom's face as he had locked eyes with her. The GiW surrounding him, threatening Jazz, Tucker, Sam… Practically the entire town was their bargaining chip against Phantom.

She had never seen the ghost so scared before. The small teenager could take on monsters with a smile on his face and cracking jokes the whole time.

K shoving him forward, a gun pinned to his back. It had been horrifying to watch. He had looked so young. She now fully understood where Jack had come from. The things that could have happened to him if the GiW had taken him away...

Maddie wouldn't have wished it on anyone.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Danny searched for the forgotten Thermos containing the malevolent Vortex. The Thermos had been kicked around and when he found it, some sizeable dents decorated it. Vortex was probably furious. Danny didn't want to be any near him when he got out.

Clutching the battered Thermos tightly in his hand, he took off into the sky, grateful for not being immediately shot down. He raced through the streets, the Fenton Portal his destination.

On the way, he chased the Box Ghost, letting off a bit of steam. With the Box Ghost in tow, he flew into the Ghost Zone. He dropped his cargo at Skulker's island, hoping to nail two birds with one stone. Skulker hated the Box Ghost.

The calming green swirls of ectoplasm in the Ghost Zone replenished his reserves. Two minutes twenty four seconds. His shield had protected him, plus another person against more than twenty ecto blasts being fired constantly at the same time.

He was proud of his new record. It had saved his mother's life.

He scowled as the Observant Lair came into view. He charged straight past the guards, planting himself smack in the middle of their primary council hall.

"YOU IDIOTS! How the hell did Vortex get loose? You said he was handled and would never cause trouble again! Well then, guess what, you screwed up you plonkers! Did you see the damage done to Amity? I got tortured on live television because of you dipshits and don't get me even started on the GiW-" Danny blinked in surprise as Clockwork appeared before him. He felt the familiar weight of the time medallion on his neck.

"Clockwork?"

"Hello Daniel. While I would be mad at the Observants too, chewing them out won't change what has happened. Besides, they have been in a rather rotten mood. I wouldn't provoke them anymore than you already have," Clockwork advised, he sounded stern, but he couldn't hide the sly grin.

"All they had to do was not open the Thermos. How hard is that?" Danny scowled.

"Ah, well Plasmius may or may not have been involved," Clockwork abruptly shifted to his middle aged form.

"Vlad?! What was he planning?"

"He wanted the Observants to elect him into their Council. They refused, he saw the Thermos and presumed it was empty," the old time ghost explained, sounding exasperated.

"The Observants left the Thermos lying in plain sight?" Danny asked incredulous.

Clockwork lifted a cloaked hand to his head, absently rubbing his forehead.

"They did?! Seriously!-" before Danny could go off on a rant, Clockwork patted him on the back with praise, teleporting him to the entrance of the Fenton Portal. The Master of Time took the Thermos from Danny, placing it in one of his many pockets hidden throughout his robes.

"Don't rile the Observations. Good luck Daniel," he blinked again and the ghost vanished, the time medallion absent from his neck.

"Damn it, I wanted to yell some more," he shrugged, passing through the the portal. He let the white rings slide over him, for the first time that day not being forced. He sagged with pure relief. He trudged up the basement steps, dropping onto to his bed the moment he was in range. His peaceful snores echoed throughout the house.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny lay sprawled on his bed when Jazz had stumbled into his room. He was still exhausted from the fight over the weekend. It was now Tuesday, three days after.

"Hey little brother,"

"I'm not little,"

"You are to me," Jazz smirked, ruffling Danny's hair as she plonked herself onto his bed. He shifted over to give her more room.

"Have you seen the news?"

"Jazz how could I not? It seems like all they talk about is Phantom's heroic efforts and the GiW firing into the crowd. I'm still pissed at that actually, they shot at Mom and used you as a hostage and I just-"

"No one can believe that they went that far. Hopefully they'll be shut down. The whole thing was videoed by Ghost Watch and broadcasted live across the world. Ironic that the station that was causing you so much trouble came to your rescue,"

"Don't remind me," Danny groaned. "They keep following me around like lost puppies when I'm fighting ghosts. It gets annoying real quick. The ghosts in the zone have started calling me their 'celeb' in the human world,"

Jazz laughed. "What are you, Lady Gaga?" Her grin widened at the face her brother made.

"Nuh uh, do I look female to you?" Jazz opened her mouth to reply "Don't answer that!"

"Well anyway, the good thing is that the majority of Amity likes you now,"

"The majority, not all," Danny sighed. It kept playing back in his head. The terrifying crack of live weapons fire, freezing himself to stop a bullet from hitting him. His mother trapped in his shield, the ground melting around them. It had terrified him, he was so close to losing everything, his life, his mother, his friends, family. Everything he had ever cared for was almost destroyed right in front of his eyes. The uncanny similarity to the alternate future that had created Dan had definitely gave him at least one sleepless night. He never wanted anything like that to ever happen again. At least Vortex was in safe hands.

"You're getting there Danny, Mum and Dad are actually trying to understand ghosts, with their own research instead of some randomer's crackpot theories," Jazz patted his back.

Danny opened his mouth to reply when an icy chill pulsed from his core. Jazz noticed the telltale blue mist.

"I'll be right behind you," She moved to stand up but Danny grabbed her arm.

"Nah it's okay, you don't need anymore attention right now. I'll be back in a minute, promise," miraculous white light passed over Danny's body, his core thrumming with power.

He shot out of his bedroom through the wall, careful to remain invisible. He spotted Skulker hovering in the air, gazing at a new gadget strapped to his metallic arm.

Danny risked flying closer, startled when Skulker's gadget began beeping with urgency. Skulker looked up from the device and grinned crookedly.

"Hello Ghost Child," he sneered lifting the other arm, to launch missiles.

"Crap!" Danny barely dodged the incoming missiles, rising up into the sky, hoping to find some cloud cover. He could hear the whining of the five or so missiles hot on his tail. He pushed himself faster, trying to outrun his pursuers.

Looping around the sky, Danny saw the blobs of news helicopters in the distance.

"Seriously?" He groaned at their stupidity. Could they not see the exploding bombs racing behind him? He needed to get away from here, he knew it was only a matter of time before the streets were full of spectators.

Sick of being chased Danny chanced turning around to shoot down the missiles. He managed to get four of them, with one crashing into the other and getting two more by twin ectoblasts. The solitary missile continued to follow him.

The oncoming helicopters came closer and Danny was desperate to end this quickly before things went sideways. He dipped back down firing at Skulker as he did so.

"Hey Skulker! If you were really the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone, why are you so lazy that you can't come and get me yourself? Maybe it's that you're too weak to get the job done on your own!" Danny yelled as he soared past. He smirked at Skulker's indignant reply. The missile was beginning to gain on him and Danny tried to shoot it out of the sky, to no avail. He turned around abruptly, just avoiding the missile.

With a destination in mind Danny flew haphazardly trying to slow down the missile. Skulker reached out to grab him as he shot by, completely forgetting about what was following Danny.

The explosion was louder than he expected and pieces of shrapnel embedded itself into his back. Skulker was swearing loudly and despite the burning feeling spreading across his back, Danny couldn't help but grin.

The smoke cleared revealing a very pissed off Skulker. His suit was badly damaged, circuits were sparking with a large portion of chest armour missing exposing the vulnerable mechanisms underneath.

Danny reached into his jumpsuit looking for the Thermos. He fumbled searching for the cylindrical object. Dread stiffened his arms when he remembered that he had used his last Thermos to get revenge on Vald. Said half-ghost had not been pleased at being shoved in the Thermos and thrashed it when Danny had let him out.

Below him people streamed onto the street yelling at him to finish the job.

"Get out of here! It's not safe. Anyone can get hit by stray fire or debris," Danny shouted over the crowd. He was getting sick of dealing with crowds. Only a few listened to his warning and the news helicopters edged closer and closer. He nearly pulled his hair out.

"What is wrong with you people?! It's dangerous, someone could get hurt or even killed! This is not some tv programme that you can stand by and watch," exasperation coloured Danny's tone as he was ignored.

Skulker returned to his senses, infuriated for being beaten yet again. He roared with rage, shooting with whatever weapons he had left. Danny canceled the majority of the oncoming fire with his own ectoblasts, but Skulker wasn't even bothering to aim.

Painfully aware of his prediction of stray fire, Danny rushed to prevent a blast from downing a helicopter, having to use himself as a shield. His side was badly burned and green blood flowed freely. People finally started to heed his message and cleared the streets. He vaguely saw the white faced pilot screaming into his radio, ordering his companion in the other chopper to get the hell out of there.

Danny fell to the ground, wondering if he'd gone into shock. His arms and legs were beginning to feel numb. Skulker descended from the air, his armour making weird choking noises. Smoke rose from his joints.

"You don't look too good there Skulker," Danny choked out. He just couldn't get a break could he? How many more injuries could he take? Even with advanced healing, his body was struggling with the amount of wounds and broken bones he had received.

Skulker growled leaning forward to inspect his prey. The mechanical ghost pulled a battered knife from his belt.

"I'm going to skin you alive for all the trouble you've caused me!" His hand rose in the air and Danny braced himself. He was so tired. His limbs were like lead. He was going to die. Properly this time. All the pain would stop, it would be peaceful. Nothing to worry about. No more bullying. No more hatred. No more fearing for his life, his friends lives, his family-

What the hell?

The arm came smashing down and he just managed to roll away in time. Adrenaline coursed through his sluggish veins and Danny stumbled to his feet. How could he give up so easily? He'd been in worse situations before…

He had no time to ponder his unnerving loss in the will to live. Skulker charged towards him, knife glistening in the sunlight. He sidestepped out of the way.

"You surprise me yet again whelp. I had Spectra infuse some of her power into my weapons," Skulker grunted, swinging again and missing his slippery target. They danced around each other, Skulker pushing Danny on the defensive. Blood still trickled from the wound on his side. A dull throb began to pulse from the affected area.

With each strike Danny grew more exhausted, fighting blood loss as well as avoiding Skulker's wicked blade. He tripped backwards onto the curb, his side protesting at the harsh impact. He groaned trying to roll away from the next attack. He picked up the rattling of Skulker's suit closing in.

Danny forced his aching body to stand, turning intangible when Skulker tried to attack him. He felt his concentration waning but his legs refused to move. Danny squeezed his eyes shut hoping to delay the inevitable. Just a little more time, Jazz or Sam or someone would come to his rescue. He struggled to remain intangible and Skulker smiled crookedly.

"You can't hold out forever whelp, your blood has stained a large portion of this street. To be honest, any normal human would have lost consciousness minutes ago, let alone standing and moving about," Skulker sneered, arm poised directly above Danny's heart.

His arm rematerialised and Danny fought to keep the rest of his body noncorporeal. Skulker smirked at him patiently, a cruel glint in his eyes. It was a waiting game and with every passing moment Danny grew weaker. His body was screaming at him and the intangibility slipped from his control. He fell to the ground helpless.

The blade swung towards him only to be halted unexpectedly. A bright blue light engulfed Skulker who kicked and flailed the whole way, shouting death threats and obscenities as he was sucked into the Thermos.

Danny breathed a deep sigh of relief, too tired to look up at his rescuer.

"Phantom?" Maddie asked kneeling beside him. Danny choked on his spit in surprise.

"Mo-Maddie? What eh are you doing here?" Real smooth he thought to himself. This was awkward.

"I saw that you were hurt. Everybody had fled when the news helicopter was nearly taken down. You used yourself as a shield… It was brave but reckless Phantom," Maddie told him. He couldn't decide to be offended or complimented at the last part. He was still freaked out by his mother's behaviour. The abrupt change of attitude since the GiW incident had caught him off guard.

He was glad but terrified at the same time. Now that his mother wasn't focused on blasting him out of the sky, she's more likely to notice the little things that could expose him. He would tell her and his father, but right now he wasn't ready and he certainly didn't want them to figure it out on their own.

"Thanks for the save," he ground out, trying to sit up. Maddie gently pushed him onto his back. He yelped as the shrapnel dug in even further. Maddie gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Don't move. This is a serious enough injury," she commanded probing his side. He gasped in pain as she pried off burnt pieces of his jumpsuit. Slowly people returned to the street and Danny groaned as their curiosity got the better of them. They asked question after question completely ignoring the fact that he was in no fit state to answer any. Maddie chased off as many as she could but they kept coming back.

"Can you idiots not see that he's injured? And that he got injured in the first place because you lot all stood around to watch like it was a football match or something? After all he does, this is how you treat him?" Maddie lost her patience, anger adding a biting tone to her words. A few people nodded sombrely, backing off a bit.

Danny was lightheaded and all the noise was killing him. He used to think the he was insensitive sometimes, but the idiotic crowd surrounding him took the cake.

"I'm going to have to bring you to my house, I can do nothing for you here," Maddie gingerly picked him up into her arms. He groaned as his wounds were jostled.

The walk was thankfully a short one to the Fenton household and once they had passed through the crowd they were left alone. They were only hounded once by a news crew. Danny had grinned weakly when his mother had threatened to sue the pesky reporter for harassment if he spoke another word.

Just as they reached the doorstep Danny instantly recognised John's rough voice.

"Helping the enemy again I see," the old man called over from the safety of his house. Coward.

"I don't have time to deal with your petty illusions John!" Maddie snapped opening the front door and slamming it shut before their grumpy neighbour could reply.

"Don't worry about him Phantom, he just can't get his head out of his ass."

Danny chuckled at his mother's odd form of comfort. She would never curse when Jazz or him were in the vicinity. He was beginning to see another side of Maddie, one that he had never glimpsed before.

She set him down on the couch running to the basement to grab a med kit. It was weird to be lying about the house as Phantom. With Maddie gone he took a look at his wound.

The left side of his torso, from his hip to lower ribs, was burned and lacerated. He knew there was shrapnel in his back as well. The pain was steadily getting worse and he could still feel blood oozing from his wounds. He grimaced when he realised he was staining the couch.

Ectoplasm was stubborn to wash out, another one of the many reasons why his parents donned hazmat suits on a day to day basis.

Jazz came thumping down the stairs rushing towards him.

"Danny! Are you okay? How did you get here?" She blurted out checking him over in a similar fashion to what Maddie had done earlier.

"I'm fine -Ah- Don't touch my side! Mom brought me home. Jazz she saved me. I'm not ungrateful or anything but it's really strange-" Maddie entered the living room, arms full of medical supplies.

"Jazz honey, do you have any more of that ectoplasm from the weekend?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go get it," she bounded out of the room, red hair flowing after her. There was a strained silence, neither of them really knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry," Maddie murmured unable to look him in the eyes.

"What for?" Danny was taken aback by his mother's quiet apology. He had a sneaky suspicion on where this conversation was going.

"Well, we never got off to a good start did we? Jack and I charged in, assuming everything we did was right, that everything was black and white. I can't believe we were so naive," Maddie's emission left Danny speechless.

"You didn't know," he said at last. Maddie looked up probably expecting a different response. She wiped away the blood and cleaned his wounds. Danny bit his lip when she rubbed antiseptic over the damaged flesh. Maddie finished off by neatly wrapping his side.

"That should do for now, but I'm no doctor. I don't suppose there's any ghost hospitals is there?"

"Nope,"

"Did you get hit with any shrapnel?" Danny reluctantly nodded and turned over onto his stomach. Jazz returned by the time Maddie was pulling the last piece of metal embedded in his shoulder blade.

"Ouch. How do you get yourself this banged up all the time?" she handed a metal flask to Maddie who peered inside it and took a sniff.

"This stinks," she said giving the flask to Danny. He gulped it down grateful for the energy. He felt his eyelids droop and let himself succumb to sleep. He wondered if he'd start glowing again.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Maddie sat beside Phantom who had fallen asleep and curled up on the couch. Jazz had smiled at the two of them before leaving them to make some lunch.

Maddie couldn't believe that the infamous Ghost Boy of Amity Park was peacefully snoring on her couch. It was like the time in the ghost shield when he had passed out, her answers right next to her but unreachable at the same time. However now, she wasn't so anxious.

She was surprised that he was willing to trust her enough to bring him back to the house and treat his injuries. For the last three days, the events of the weekend kept flashing through her mind. Phantom had saved her when he could have escaped. He cared about her life. All her research and projects said otherwise. That what had happened was physically impossible.

Ghosts weren't supposed to give a damn about humans. It was all so conflicting. Her training told her to have a gun pointed at his head, to tie him down to a lab table. Her motherly instincts told her to protect. She was still wary. She had fully expected Phantom to take advantage of her apology, to lash out at her. Even when he was in pain he did nothing of the sort.

Trust was slowly creeping up on them. She had taken a leap of fate with the GiW. There wasn't doubt in her mind that Phantom would have been taken without her intervening, and if Phantom had not shielded her, she'd be a puddle of gloop.

It made her smile. This was the first step to repairing the damage and hurt indirectly or directly caused by her.

She jumped up when Jack charged through the door with his usual racket. She motioned him to be quiet.

He stared at her in shock as he took in the sight. His ghost hunting wife sitting beside a sleeping ghost on their living room sofa. Now that's not something you see everyday.

Jack moved as stealthily as he could, which was more like a t-Rex trying not to trample a flower, across the living room. He sat down on the floor as Phantom took up the majority of the couch, his limbs sprawled out haphazardly.

Jack grinned goofily.

"How did this happen?" He whispered, or what was whispering for him anyway.

"He got hurt, I brought him home to treat his wounds. He fell asleep a few minutes ago," Maddie grabbed an overthrow and wrapped Phantom up. She hadn't even second guessed her actions. It was just like when Danny would fall asleep watching movies.

Jack ran out of the room, coming back with a camera.

"Jack!" Maddie laughed as her husband snapped a picture of her and the ghost kid.

It seemed that everyone could change.


	9. Chapter 9

Danny looped lazily through the night sky content with the cool breeze ruffling his hair. Life was good right now. He had woken up with his side almost completely healed, pink skin was all that remained of the gruesome injury. His parents were downstairs in the lab busy working on whatever invention came into their heads. He had been greatly relieved when he hadn't accidentally changed form while asleep.

It happened every now and again after he'd fall into bed exhausted from a night's work. A knock on his bedroom door in the morning would startle him awake to find himself hovering above his bed.

He didn't want to push his good luck by going to the lab so he wrote a thank you note and drew a sloppy smiley face on it. He was never great at drawing. Checking that the curtains were closed he let the white rings wash over him and trudged upstairs to finish some homework.

Despite it being close to twelve, his sister was still working away on assignments due next month.

Jazz had teased him mercilessly and showed him the photo that his Dad had took. It was nice but weird at the same. Really weird.

Sick of geometry Danny decided that he could do with some leisurely flying.

Tonight there was little cloud cover and it was a full moon. Bathed in the pale light Danny, practiced his favourite aerial tricks. He loved to climb to high altitudes before allowing himself to free fall for a few hundred feet.

Sometimes he would fly between buildings and try dart through the narrowest of cracks. He stopped for minute, content to gaze up at the stars. The Orion Belt, the Big Dipper-

"Hey! Mr. Phantom could I talk to you for a sec?"

Danny nearly fell off the roof he was lying on. He looked over the edge and spotted a man on the street below.

"Em, what do you want to talk about?" He responded unintelligently. Well that's his 'me time' over.

XxxxXxxxxXxxxxx

Mark Porter didn't consider himself a very brave man. He was terrified of the dark, sushi and gloomy alleyways. Despite his fear of things that go bump in the night, he made the trip to Amity Park.

The small town had become famous for its paranormal occurrences, it had even been sucked into another dimension once.

Mark earned his living as a big shot movie director. Dead Teacher and the numerous sequels that followed were some of his best work. His last movie however, well it wasn't his finest. Critics had been reluctant to give even two stars. He needed his next project to be massive, to create a ripple in the showbiz world.

It wasn't hard to see what people were hooked on these days.

Ghosts.

Ghosts this, ghosts that. Everywhere Mark looked all the talk was about ghosts. Social media was buzzing with stories and photos, the majority of the content leading back to one place, Amity Park, and more particularly Danny Phantom. This one teenage ghosts was more famous than several rock bands put together.

Phantom's fan base grew larger at an alarming rate, saturating the online community with a very committed following.

One late night Mark was skimming his laptop for inspiration to save his career (with the lights on of course) and it hit. Phantom was as elusive as he was private, no one knew much about him.

Anything to do with Phantom nearly always went viral, so if a movie based on him were to be released…

Mark could almost taste the money that would flow into his bank account. Actors would line up at his feet to take part, but Mark had a bigger prize in mind.

If Phantom himself was the starring role, it would be massive! Mark had almost drooled on his laptop at his epiphany.

So here he was, wandering around the most haunted town in America, through gloomy alleys in the dark. He really was a wuss, but he was a determined wuss. He didn't come all this way to back out now.

He tried to calm his shattered nerves. It was pitch black in some parts of the alleys as the moonlight was blocked by buildings or overhangs.

Mark had been out here for God knows how long. Grouchiness was beginning to override his fear. Phantom had been seen earlier today, fighting a metallic ghost. The news footage had been cut off when a helicopter was nearly shot down.

Trembling with excitement and terror, Mark began his search. He was just about give up when a glowing object suddenly shot over head. He almost pissed himself from fright.

The object halted at the end of the alley and Mark couldn't believe his eyes. Phantom was hovering in the air less than a few metres away. Before he could gather his courage to talk, Phantom flew up to a nearby rooftop.

"Oh man," he had a bad habit of talking to himself. What should he say?

"Hello there Danny Phantom, my name is- Nah that's so stupid…. Em Hey you!- No that won't work, em come on. Ah you're here now, no backing out. This is your big break Mark. You can do this. And I really need to stop talking to myself," he steeled his frazzled nerves.

"Okay, okay. I can do this. Hey! Mr. Phantom could I talk to you for a sec?" his breath caught in his throat when a white mob of white hair and piercing green eyes peered over the edge of the rooftop.

"Em, what do you want to talk about?" Came the hesitant reply. Phantom sounded as shy as himself.

"I-I was wondering if I could ask you a question?" Phantom nodded his head and glided down from his perch. Mark stood awestruck at the glowing entity. This was so cool!

Right focus Mark. You have work to do.

"Eh hi, I'm Mark Porter"- he unexpectedly interrupted.

"The same Mark Porter who directed Dead Teacher? No way! That's awesome dude," Phantom impishly grinned like a small kid getting chocolate. Ghosts watch movies? The Danny Phantom recognised him?

"Yeah em, I'm not good at small talk so I'm just going to get to the point. I would like you to star as yourself in my next movie," it came out as a rush but Mark could tell the message got across. Phantom's jaw dropped and he looked like a startled mouse. He was really like an awkward teen.

Phantom's face contorted with thought, eyes narrowed in hopefully consideration. He opened his mouth to reply when he was suddenly knocked down the alley by what Mark could only call a shadow.

He heard Phantom grunt out a curse before yelling "Sorry I have to go!"

Damn it! He was so close and now he was left alone in a dark alley with quite possibly an evil ghost. Great.

Sounds of shouts echoed through the alley. Deciding to be brave, he was after all already out here, Mark took out his camera and started filming.

"I'm Mark Porter and I've just seen Danny Phantom take off down this alley chasing a shadow that had attacked him while we were talking," talking to a camera didn't count as talking to yourself did it?

He peaked around the corner and almost wished he hadn't. Phantom and another ghost were wrestling each other, kicking and punching when able.

"Ah Phantom, come on. I want to let off some steam for a bit. Kitty has been unbearable lately, always whining about something. You gotta let Shadow out, otherwise this isn't a fair fight," the attacking ghost had dirty blond hair and an ethereal white glow that gave him away as not human.

"Johnny I was in the middle of something important. I don't care if it's a fair fight! You attacked first and pissed me off. Don't you think I have better things to do than kick your ass all the time?" Phantom snarled pushing 'Johnny' backwards. He slammed into a motorbike toppling it over.

"Jesus Phantom! Watch the bike man! And seriously what better things to you have to do anyway. It's not like school is any fun and I know the jocks bully the hell out of you. It's ironic isn't it? Two sides of the same coin…"-

"Shut up Johnny. You want to blow off some steam? I'll give you a ten second head start. If I catch you in the Thermos before one o'clock, you're banned from going through the portal for a month,"

"Phantommmm that's not-"

"Ten, nine, eight," Phantom cut him off again a bored expression stretched across his face. Johnny took off, motorbike screeching down the street. Phantom followed, metal Thermos in hand.

What the hell was that?

XxxXxxXxxxX

Mark had barely slept at all last night. The conversation between Phantom and Johnny kept playing through his head over and over.

School? Bullies? Two sides of the same coin?

Why would ghosts go to school anyway? Even if Phantom attended one, he was so powerful, how would anyone bully him?

Mark was more than a little confused. Thought after thought churned in his brain, trying to make sense of what information he had gathered. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this to himself. He needed to tell someone, to talk about it and get a second opinion.

The debating team!

He was just full of great ideas lately. Mark picked up his camera and tucked it into his coat. He hurriedly ate breakfast and rushed out of his hotel.

Amity Park's debate team has gained popularity the last few months, mainly because of the topics. They often had lengthy discussions on recent ghost battles and on the Anti-Ecto Laws. The last one had been particularly heated, talking about the recent actions of the GiW and how Phantom had saved local ghost hunter, Maddie Fenton.

Mark casually walked into the Ghost Watch building, where the debate team usually hung out. He had contacts everywhere. His excitement for once had overridden his nervousness. His mother had no idea how he became so successful despite being so shy.

"Do you know where the Amity Debate Team are located?" He politely asked the secretary.

"The second floor, room fourteen," she replied not even looking up from her computer screen.

"Thanks,"

Room fourteen was quite a walk from the elevator. Mark raptly knocked on the hard oak door. A mousy looking woman appeared, wearing thick glasses.

"Can I help you?"

"Em yes, eh well I captured some pretty strange evidence last night. Eh Danny Phantom, he was talking to another ghost, I got some pretty interesting dialogue between the two. Eh hi, I'm em Mark Porter," he tried to slow down but it all came out in a rush.

"Eh yes hi there, I'm Zoey Clifford," the woman responded. Thank god she didn't recognise him.

"Hey guys, we got something here!" Zoey yelled into the room "Here come in. This is Brian, there's Jimmy in the corner and that's Millie over by the coffee machine,"

"Hi," Mark felt a small bit overwhelmed. Get a hold of yourself Porter you can manage a movie set, you can manage this.

He pulled out his camera and the others snatched it early from his hands. He could see the shock morph on their faces as they played the video.

"Oh my, this is very interesting!" Millie gasped, delight sparkling in pale blue eyes.

Zoey seemed to be the one in charge and she dragged a white board into the centre of the room.

"Okay, this is very enlightening information. So far we know very little about Phantom. The referendum on the change of ghost laws is happening next Tuesday. I think we should hold a debate to decide whether Phantom should be allowed free range in Amity or should prohibited from entering. People have been sending us letters on what their views are, so this will be a very interesting debate," Zoey wrote points on the board with alarming speed.

"I think we should bring Maddie Fenton in, see if we can convince her to interview Phantom for us. I saw her carrying him to her house yesterday after he got injured by Skulker. I think they have a truce now," Millie chimed in. Brian and Jimmy looked glum, eyes glued to their phones. It took Mark a minute to realise they were searching news reports and forum comments.

"This is from the Amity Park Community Forum Anonymous said 'Phantom is nothing more than a nuisance and the Fentons cannot be trusted anymore," Brian called out, gaze never leaving his handheld device.

"I got this from the same forum, PHANTOMFAN426 says 'I can't believe all the bad press he gets sometimes. When the GiW fired into the crowd, I was in the front. I would have been shot if Phantom hadn't protected us. He's one of the best things that has ever happened to this town, I mean look at all the tourists he's brought in'. It's pretty mixed on the forums. He's getting flamed and praised at the same time," Jimmy added, taking off his jacket.

Mark felt like he had been forgotten about, the debate team were stuck in their own world it seemed. He cleared his throat.

"Em would I be able to help, I'm a movie director, I could turn this into a documentary or something. I have this nagging feeling that over the next few weeks, history is going to be made, eh call it a gut feeling,"

Four pairs of eyes stared at him, he shifted from one foot n other uncomfortably. He was a seriously socially awkward person.

"That would be a great idea, welcome to the team," Zoey grinned beckoning Mark to sit down.

He smiled back, he was in for one hell of a week.


	10. Chapter 10

The Fenton family parked themselves in front of their living room tv. Jack had taken up a large portion of the couch and Maddie was half sitting on him to give Danny and Jazz enough room. She smiled, it had been far too long since they had all sat together. Dinner time was sporadic at best and it was a rare occurrence for them to be all eating at the same time, or even occupying the same room.

"This Tuesday an important referendum will be held, stating what laws regarding ecto entities should come into effect. The Amity Park Debate Team will be in the thick of it, and will be hosting a debate on Sunday 5pm. It seems the eyes of the world will be on Amity next week as history is in the making," The news anchor droned on for a bit, before moving onto the weather. By then Maddie had zoned out, mind racing.

The proposed laws that were coming out could be devastating to Phantom. They labeled ghosts as enemies of the state, with no rights and not being recognised as sentient beings. Maddie found it cruelly ironic that endangered animals like the Bengal Tiger, which has killed more people than ghosts have, had more rights.

She had gotten a rather interesting phone call earlier, the Debate Team had asked her to come in and state the facts. What surprised her was that they were wondering if she'd be able to corral Phantom into doing a live interview. It was a bold request.

Maddie bit her fingernails, uncurling her legs from the couch. She'd need to talk to Phantom, and she wanted to get to know him better. Maddie stiffened when she remembered that she hadn't talked to the kids yet about their ghost hunting activities. She looked over to Danny and Jazz, the latter getting a smelly barefoot shoved in her face. In retaliation Jazz grabbed the offending foot and tickled it. The battle continued with Danny somehow reaching around and capturing one of Jazz's feet. Both squirmed to get away from the other and ended up tumbling onto the floor.

Maddie smirked at their antics and decided to leave them be for now. She got up and went down to the lab. It was a mess, Jack had been in it last.

Looking at the pile of supposed 'research' Maddie ruffled through it.

It was going to be a long day.

XxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxx

Danny eventually freed himself from his sister's foot tickling tyranny. He went up to his room and stared at a pile of homework sitting innocently on his desk.

Eyes boring into the hated maths questions, Danny toyed with the idea of accidentally hitting it with an ectoblast and telling the teacher that a ghost ate it.

Groaning he sat down, the pencil in his hand feeling twenty times heavier. After a few moments of glaring he worked through the questions lazily. He was about halfway finished when he switched to doing the work Lancer assigned him. Again, as Lancer's work was around half completed Danny started on his chemistry.

Sam had suggested the idea, that if he did bits of everything, his grades wouldn't drop too low. To his pleasure it worked like a charm. Teachers were less annoyed if he handed in at least half of the work, and if he did that for every subject instead of just focusing on trying to get certains pieces of work completely finished, he got less detentions.

Danny was sure that the teachers had copped on to what he was at, but they didn't seem too bothered. They were used to getting no homework at all, so they didn't expect much from him anymore. Most of them had given up, believing Danny to be a lost cause. He didn't particularly care with the attitude they had, as it meant they weren't on his back looking for good grades and projects.

Sighing at the time, which was twenty-four minutes past five Danny closed his English homework, which was for once totally finished. Lancer would have a heart attack. He grinned at the thought checking his phone as it buzzed.

Sam has one of her plans again. U wanna meet at the Nasty Burger?

-Tucknolord

Danny's stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He rubbed it while rummaging around the drawer in his desk, fishing out some change. Nice he had enough for a large Nasty meal.

Yeah sure. I'm leaving now

-DannyF

He left the house quickly yelling where he was going as he went out the door. It was summer and the evening was still hot and uncomfortable. The air was swarming with midges and Danny inhaled a good load of them before he arrived at the Nasty Burger.

Sam was waiting for him inside and he sat down beside her.

"Hey," she said in greeting, chewing tofu.

"You know Mark Porter?" Sam gave him a look "Yeah, of course you do, well I saw him last night and he asked me to star in a movie," Danny blurted smirking when Sam choked on her tofu in surprise.

"You're joking?"

"Who's joking?" Tucker unceremoniously plonked himself down in the adjacent seat with a lopsided grin.

"Apparently Mark Porter is in town," Sam replied dryly.

"I was just about to tell you that!" Tucker glared indignantly, his thunder stolen. Danny wore the biggest shit eating smile as Sam stared at him incredulously.

"What did I miss?" Tucker whined, noticing Sam's expression.

"I was talking to the guy myself last night," Danny explained.

"And?"

"He asked me to star as Phantom in one of his movies,"

"No way! Why life, why?! Must you wave the cool things in front of me, just out of my reach!" Tucker wailed attracting more than a few weird looks from the customers beside them. Sam kicked him under the table to shut him up.

'Wait, so you were talking to him as Phantom?" Sam took another bite at her forgotten tofu.

"Yeah, I kinda wanna try it out, but such focus on Phantom would probably be a really bad idea," Danny sighed counting his change on the table top. He recounted it and scowled when he dug a finger in his pocket finding the culprit of the missing money.

"Damn I have another hole in my pocket. I don't think I have enough now for dinner,"

Tucker snickered at his misfortune "Seriously, all of your clothes have holes in 'em. What do you have in your closet, mutant moths or something?"

"At this stage, I wouldn't be surprised,"

"Here," Sam shoved a fiver into the pile of change and Danny smiled gratefully. When Sam offered money, accept it. He and Tucker had learnt that the hard way. Sam hated seeing them short of change, and seemed resentful of her own filthy rich status.

At the pause in conversation Danny went up and ordered a meal, and with the extra money Sam gave him, it meant he could get another portion of fries. Tucker was close behind and Danny laughed at his failure of flirting with the unimpressed employee.

"My 'Too Fine' trick usually works," Tucker grumbled sitting back down.

"Yeah, you keep believing that buddy," Danny ravaged into his burger, he was absolutely starving. He consumed the rest of his meal in record time, relaxing. Or at least he tried to.

This ghost referendum stuff coming up really had him worried. He had no idea which way it would turn out, the whole of America was voting on the issue, even though half of the population didn't even believe in the existence of ghosts, preferring to state whatever conspiracy theory they had come up with.

Some of them were pretty funny.

Sam had shown him an article with a cattle farmer stating that ghosts were only clouds and that people claiming to see ghosts were all high on a new secret drug that the government had slipped into the water supply.

Another one said that ghosts were the effects of a strong physic bending people's minds to their evil will.

The best one perhaps, was that ghosts were cardboard models made by devious children that had attached toy helicopters to them to make them fly, for the sole purpose of scaring the elderly into staying home, fearing a 'ghost' would attack them.

Danny nearly shat himself laughing reading that one. Yes, all the property damage had been from the result of children trying to scare old people.

Thinking back to the laws took the mirth out of Danny's thoughts. No matter what laws were brought into effect, ghosts were still going to come to Amity, and other places across the world.

Death hadn't stopped these spirits, so why would a puny human law do the trick?

The absurdity of it all made Danny's head spin.

Sam unexpectedly broke him from his troubling thoughts.

"You're worried about something," she raised an eyebrow, an inquiring look on her face.

"Yeah, I guess I am. All this law stuff, I don't get the point of it. Outlawing the presence of ghosts in the human domain, I mean the ghosts don't give a crap about the Observant laws half the time, why should they care about human ones?" Danny stood up, stretching. Sam and Tucker followed suit and together they left the Nasty Burger.

"It's politics man, half the time they don't make sense anyway," Tucker shrugged his shoulders. He paused mid step, as if remembering something important, but Sam beat him to.

"I have a plan to help your situation," Sam spoke with confidence. It usually meant a scheme of some sort and Danny listened intently for more.

"We need to improve your public image, and the image of other ghosts. Right now, you're the only 'friendly ghost' around and people won't change their mind based on one ghost when there is so many different ones that attack Amity. Firstly, people need to see ghosts interacting with other ghosts that doesn't always end up in a fight breaking out. Secondly, they need to see ghosts doing 'human' activities, so that ghosts seem more 'normal' to people and not terrifying monsters," Sam pointed to a man walking his dog in front of them.

"For example, if people see you as Phantom playing with Cujo, it will show that you don't spend all of your time beating the crap out of other ghosts,"

Danny blinked and Tucker whistled in appreciation.

"That actually sounds like a good plan," Tucker reached into his trousers pulling out a battered PDA. He began typing furiously at the screen, no doubt taking down notes about Sam's plan.

"What do you mean 'actually'," she huffed.

Danny relaxed a small bit. "I think that could work. But how do I get other ghosts involved? Half of them hate me and the other half barely even leave the Ghost Zone," he swiped at a stray midge.

They were everywhere. The population must have exploded from all the stagnant pools left by Vortex. Danny scowled, karma it seemed, had it out for him.

"We can deal with that later, right now we can started on giving you a better image. Pretend to get a phone call and tell us it's your parents and that you have to go home. Walk all the way home and change into Phantom in your house and make your way back here. And bring a football or something," Sam instructed. Danny groaned at the effort involved, but did as he was told.

He raced home swatting at the pestering midges as he went. Next time he saw Vortex he'd give him an extra punch. Or just flat out wail. The wail sounded fun. It probably would have destroyed the weather ghost if Danny had used it in the fight last weekend, but the first surprise attack had drained him, and then the fact that entire town was watching, it was most likely for the better. He scowled, if only there wasn't an audience he could have avoided the whole mess of that day.

But then again everything turned out okay in the end.

Sorta.

A portion of the population still hated his guts.

The perils of the life of a teenage halfa, was very complicated indeed.

XxxxxxxXxxxxxXxxx

Danny reached home in good time, happy when he realised that both of his parents were in the lab, so they hadn't noticed his return. He dug around in his room for a while looking for a football. Fat chance of that. Growing frustrated he changed into Phantom, the white flash of the transformation illuminating his room. Danny stuck a hand through his bed, then his head. He really needed to clean under here. Dust and crumbs littered the floor.

Danny cheered in surprise when he spotted an old worn looking baseball kit. Smiling at his luck, he pulled the kit out.

Turning invisible he zoomed through the open window and made the kit intangible allowing all the dust and gunk to harmlessly fall off it.

He became visible again, making of show of just messing around in the air. He did loop-de-loops, barrel rolls and other aerial tricks, thoroughly enjoying himself. Danny smirked with triumph when he saw the telltale flash of cameras and whispers of snatched conversation of people pointing him out to others.

He played about for another few minutes, racing against a playful blackbird, that didn't appear to be bothered in the slightest with Danny sharing its airspace.

Danny lowered himself to the ground satisfied with his work and dumped the baseball kit on Sam's lap, as she was leisurely lying on a park bench.

"Nice, where the hell did ya find this?" She asked, picking through the baseball kit.

"Under my bed,"

"Huh, was that all you found under there?" Tucker snickered, earning him a dig in the ribs. Disgruntled, the techno geek fought back by slapping his beret over Danny's eyes.

Sam laughed at them and threw baseball gloves in Danny's direction while handing a bat to Tucker.

"You trust him with that?" Danny remarked smirking at the glare he received.

"Sam, you can't really play baseball with three people," Danny said trying to remember the rules.

"Who said it was just going to be us three?" Just as Sam finished her sentence, young boy shyly strolled over, his face lit up with excitement.

"Can-can I play too?" He stuttered.

"Of course, do you know anyone else who would like to play?" Sam coaxed and the boy nodded. He rushed off.

Danny raised an eyebrow and floated off the ground, lying horizontally with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Comfortable are you?" Tucker flicked him in the forehead and Danny swatted him away.

Soon enough, the trio were surrounded by kids, and quite a few teenagers too. Wary parents stood around the perimeter, the hawk like eyes of mothers and fathers watching closely.

Sam organised the massive game, as they had over thirty players at that stage, and it soon kicked off. With Tucker's atrocious batting skills, his team was at an immediate disadvantage. Danny switched sides often, to the delight of the kids who had the pleasure of playing alongside the town hero.

The game carried on with an unexpected camaraderie, and the acceptance of Phantom was a nice touch. Sam had played her cards right, that was for sure. Even parents began to get involved and the makeshift pitch was full of giggles and laughter.

The journalists and news crews got wind of the 'legendary' game and they eagerly got footage and photos, and every now and again they would pester a kid or parent for details. A few particularly desperate reporters tried to interview Danny, only to get told off by impatient children, and even some parents chased them off.

There was a moment of drama when a kid fell and skinned her knee. Danny rushed to her, picking her up to her feet and using his ice core to sooth and clean the wound, much to her mother's delight. Happy with the extra brownie points and the day in general, Danny felt more relaxed than he had in ages.

But then it all came crashing down when the Red Huntress stormed onto the pitch, a gun aimed directly to Danny's head.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny froze staring at the gun barrel aimed at his head. For a second no one moved, silence like a heavy fog enveloped the pitch.

"What are you doing here Phantom?" Valerie snarled, her arm stock steady.

"Look I don't want a fight," Danny stated flatly raising his arms to cross them over his chest. Valerie flinched at the movement, her eyes most likely narrowed behind her helmet.

"I highly doubt that ghost," she spat adjusting her stance. Tension was saturating the air and more than a few anxious parents collected their kids. Danny scowled. A fight must not break out. He needed to end this pointless feud, he was sick of Valerie always on his tail.

"Red, why do you always come after me? I said I was sorry, what happened was just pure accident. You want to prove I'm evil, a piece of ectoplasmic filth? I could have shot at you by now. I could have hidden behind these kids and used them as a shield. Why can't you understand? I don't want to fight you!" Danny glared hard, his gaze only softening if he locked eyes with a wide eyed child.

Valerie stiffened, as if unsure of what to say. Sam began slowly moving around the pitch, picking up the stragglers that hadn't moved since Valerie interrupted the game. The goth was steaming but kept her mouth shut, getting people out of the danger area.

"You say you don't want to fight me, but you always shoot back," Valerie finally managed.

"I'm pretty sure you'd fight back too if some lunatic on a hoverboard was chasing you," Danny snarked back, unable to resist the small smirk sliding onto to his face.

"Hey! I'm not some lunatic!"

"You look like one," Danny barely moved as a warning shot singed the patch of ground in front of his feet. At least she wasn't firing directly at him yet.

Yet was the key word.

"Watch what you say ghost,"

"What do I have to do to get you off my back?" Danny conceded, thoroughly sick of the fights between him and Valerie. She was getting more viscous, with bigger, more damaging weapons each battle. The property damage after their fights was mostly caused by Valerie, and the media had noticed. She was beginning to get slated by the public because she usually ignored any other ghost if Danny was involved.

And if Danny was involved, it meant that another ghost was most likely in the mix. The public saw Valerie interrupting Danny in the middle of fights, and so saw her as a nuisance.

All of this trouble from one misunderstanding.

"Die," Valerie powered up her weapon again for another shot.

Danny flickered into intangibility "Sorry, already did that,"

They stood there for what felt like hours, waiting for the other to make a move. Eventually Danny shifted back to being tangible.

"Why don't we just settle this for once and for all. We race around Amity and if I win, you have to leave me alone, seriously. You're acting like a stalker or something,"

"And what if I win?" Valerie asked getting straight to the point.

"You have three hours to hunt me down and take as many potshots as you like, but after that, we have a truce. I don't fight you, you don't fight me," Danny raised an eyebrow at Valerie's silence, hoping she'd go for it. No matter who won the race, the feud would finally be settled.

Danny just hoped that if Valerie won, he'd be able to make it out in one piece.

"That's all? If I win I have three hours to do all the damage I want?"

"Hey I can feel you know. I'd like to see you volunteer to be hunted down for a few hours," Danny replied dryly.

"How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Danny sighed exasperated. "You don't, but why would I even want to trap you?"

Valerie was about to retort when she was cut off.

"Race, race!" A young child, aged maybe four or five cheered from the wary spectators. The others caught on and soon an excited crowd formed around the pair. Danny smirked at Valerie's discomfort as news cameras were pointed their way.

"Fine!" Valerie was swarmed by little kids pleading for her to race, and interview mics were shoved in her face. Danny was quite happy to hang back and watch, enjoying the fact that all the attention was not focused on him.

"Okay let's just do this," Valerie grumbled, kick starting her hoverboard and rising into the air.

Danny was about to follow her when Sam grabbed his arm.

"Danny, this could go really badly. Here's a Fenton Phone, talk to us the second something is wrong," Sam gave him a Fenton Phone.

"Yes Mom," Danny replied obediently earning a smack. He placed the Phone in his ear, securing it in place.

"You start here and have to go the whole way around Amity, following the edge of the town as a guide. First one back wins, simple as that," Sam told them as they got into position.

"Who said you were in charge?" Valerie complained but Sam just ignored her, raising an arm to act as a signal.

"Ready," Danny pooled his power into his legs, a wispy tail forming. Valerie revved her hoverboard.

"Set," The noisy chatter of reporters and spectators died down, everybody's gaze fixed on the ghost and the ghost hunter.

"GO!" Sam yelled, her arm slicing the air. Valerie's hoverboard roared as she floored the accelerator. Danny himself shot off, a small burst of colour exploded from his feet as the pressure of the power pooled there was released.

The pair stayed rather close to one another, edging faster and faster. Danny couldn't help but whoop in delight at the speed they were going at, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Valerie looked over at him, seeming surprised at the joy on Danny's face. He took detours, weaving through trees and buildings showing off. Valerie, not wanting to be outdone tried some tricks of her own, the two of them sometimes flying within touching distance as the other did a maneuver.

Valerie began to unwind during the race, laughing as she shot around corners with Danny on her tail. They dodged around street signs and traffic lights as they flew quite close to the ground.

The wind flattened Danny's wild white hair against his head and the clear, clean sky was empty thanks to the roar of Valerie's hoverboard scaring birds away.

"You're not too bad Phantom," Valerie shouted, the wind snatching her words, without his heightened senses Danny would struggle to hear her.

"See? That's what I've been saying all along!" Danny smiled at her scoff.

"Who said I was talking about your personality?" Valerie put on a burst of speed, cutting off Danny at the next turn.

"That's rude you know!" He shouted scowling at her laughter. How could she be so bipolar? One minute she was pointing a gun to his head and the other she's joking around.

Danny raced forward, catching up. The wind practically howled in his ears and his eyes watered.

They shot through the air pushing for the lead.

Danny squinted, able to the see the park. The finish line was less than a hundred meters away. He sped up beginning to feel his limits. Valerie's hoverboard gave off a weird whine. They went faster, the world blurring beneath them.

A loud bang startled Danny, looking over he saw smoke rising from Valerie's hoverboard. The smell of petrol and oil tinged the air. Concerned Danny slowed down, only for Valerie to fly past, piling on more speed.

"Are you crazy?!" Danny yelled after her. He got no reply, only to watch in horror as the board exploded, smoke and debris marking the hoverboard's plumet.

Valerie was clinging to the ruined board, as it spiralled from her control. Danny panicked shooting off towards her. He only had seconds to grab Valerie before the board smashed into the ground, cursing their actions to fly at such a low altitude.

"Put me down ghost!" Valerie snarled punching Danny in the arms and wherever she could reach.

"Yeah great plan Red, it's not like we're forty metres in the air or anything," Danny shot back struggling to keep a good grip on his passenger.

"I don't need your help Phantom,"

They got to the park quickly, ending the short flight. Valerie lept away from him, pulling out a gun.

"Did you sabotage me?" She accused.

"For heaven's sake! Why would I do that?" Danny exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. It was going so well.

"What else could have destroyed my hoverboard?" Valerie charged her weapon, a red glow filling the barrel.

"Maybe you were pushing it too hard? I don't know I'm not a mechanic. Please, for once in your life will you listen to reason!"

"You're anything but reasonable!" Valerie shouted anger staining her voice.

"Yeah well, you wouldn't know since you only listen to yourself and ignore everybody around you!" Danny snarled losing his patience.

"Please stop fighting," a meek voice interrupted the pair, startling them.

Danny turned to see a small boy peeping out from behind a tree. Large innocent brown eyes locked onto to his own and Danny felt himself calm down.

Valerie whipped her head to the voice as well, staring as the boy slowly approached them.

"You should probably go somewhere safe, this could get dangerous," Valerie warned, her weapon still charged.

"You both scare away the mean ghosts. So you're both the good guys right? The good guys don't fight each other," the young boy proclaimed pointing to each of them in turn.

"Good guy?-Ghosts only-" Valerie was surprised as she was cut off.

"Phantom scared the big weather ghost. He saved me and Mommy and Daddy from the bad ghost. He made us invisible!" The boy ran to Danny and gave him a hug.

Danny had no idea what to do and gently hugged the kid back. Suddenly he remembered. The boy and his family had been trapped, hiding behind a car when Vortex had appeared.

"Thanks kid," Danny said sincerely, ruffling the boy's hair.

He relaxed when he heard the gun power die down. The kid let go and went to hug Valerie. She stiffened as if she had no idea how to react.

"The Red Huntress scares all the ghosts away too, with her big guns!" The boy laughed nattering away about how cool he thought the Red Huntress was. Then he blathered on about how cool Phantom was and that he couldn't decide who was his favourite superhero.

Superhero, the word made Danny feel warm and fuzzy.

The boy slowed down in his ramble, noticing that Valerie still had her gun armed.

"The good guys don't fight, they have to get along to save the city," he told them, shaking his head disapprovingly. Danny couldn't help but snicker.

"You better get back to your parents, they're probably worried about you," Danny smiled as the kid ran back the way he came.

"The good guys don't fight," Valerie repeated softly.

"We can have the race another time to settle the score," Danny replied.

He turned away to make sure the boy had left, only to feel an explosion of pain across his check as a red armoured fist smashed into him. He fell to the ground in surprise, nursing his bruised cheek.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He yelled ready to defend himself for another strike.

"Now we're even ghost. You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours," Valerie holstered her gun and offered Danny a hand.

Staring at it, he gingerly took the offered hand and was hauled off of the ground.

"Truce?" He asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"For now. But I swear if you step outta line or hurt someone you're gonna have me hunting you down!" Valerie threatened. She walked off in the other direction without another word.

Danny stood there, trying to process what had happened.

He was really beginning to suspect that Valerie was just plain crazy.

XxxxxXxxxxXxxxxxx

Mark stood in front of his desk, scrutinising the photos and articles laid out happardazly on its surface.

There was pictures of Phantom, Skulker, Vlad Plasmius, the Red Huntress, the Guys in White and other ghosts and ghost hunters well known around Amity.

It was interesting; but frightening, very frightening.

Some of the ghosts that had attacked Amity would have easily levelled the town without the interference of Phantom and ghost hunters. The spectral invaders had so much power, Mark shivered at the thought of living here permanently.

The research that the Debate Team had gathered on Phantom had been thorough, but still lacking.

The ghost was an elusive mystery and Mark was itching to find out more. He found it amusing that Amity's mayor, Vlad Masters, shared the same first name with Vlad Plasmius. The name coincidence occurred again after looking up the Fentons, a pair of ghost hunters who had a son named Danny.

Mark didn't know why he found it so funny in the first place, but his strange mind suggested movie plots along the lines of Vlad Plasmius being Vlad Masters' ghost that had gone back in time to get revenge at Phantom and others for causing all of the damage done to the town by ghost attacks.

He snickered at the thought.

Maybe he should have been an author or something.

Tired of staring, Mark pottered about his new flat. (He hated staying in hotels, and he had the money to pay the rent for at least a year. He was considering buying the entire block of flats at some stage) He flopped down onto the couch lazily grabbing the tv remote. He flicked through the channels, pausing as one caught his eye.

"Today Phantom strikes again, yet all he'll be hitting is baseballs," the peppy reporter stated. The screen changed to a clip of Phantom and a huge bunch of kids and teenagers playing what appeared to be a round of baseball. It zoomed in as a little girl tripped, and Mark watched fascinated as Phantom helped her up and treated the wound.

"The Ghost Boy was also seen making amends with the Red Huntress today, after a race gone wrong, resulting in the Red Huntress's having what appears to be a hoverboard malfunction. Phantom caught her and carried her to safety. When asked about the race later, Phantom told our reporter that he and the Red Huntress have a truce now. How long will it last?

For more news on Phantom, please switch to Ghost Watch."

Mark ran back over to his desk again and tore open a notepad. Inside he jotted down some quick notes.

Danny Phantom- Personality and Quirks

-Awkward

-Protective

-Taunts his enemies

-Fearful (Being held captive by Vortex)-

Mark had nearly wet himself watching the dramatic battle that had happened last week. The Debate Team had eagerly showed it to him, even pointing themselves out in the crowd in the footage.

-Playful

The more he thought about it, the more teenager like Phantom was. The ghost was nearly always awkward when talking to adults, he was playful with children and showed his emotions freely, despite the countless research that had stated that ghosts felt no emotions, and that they only acted.

What Phantom was doing was certainly not acting, at least not to Mark it wasn't and that said something, he worked with professional actors all of the time!

-Human

Mark scribbled it down, surprised at himself. He went to cross it out, pausing. Phantom really did act like a normal human being, minus the 'ghost' part.

He left it there, going to get a coffee. He had a feeling that he wouldn't get any sleep tonight.


	12. Chapter 12

Maddie glared at the pile of research notes at her feet. Her and Jack had spent hours cleaning out the lab. Old notes and tonnes of books were splayed out on the floor.

When Maddie had first began her hobby of all things ectoplasmic, the belief had been that they were just impressions left behind. They could feel no pain, no emotion and were just acting from fragmented memories of a former life.

Ghosts were beings that supposedly had no sentience and only thrived on wanton destruction.

Maddie had clung to these beliefs, eager to find out more. She wanted to know everything, biology, behaviours and the power of ghosts.

Had her desire of scientific discovery blinded her?

Thinking back on it, Maddie couldn't believe that she had swallowed every word whole, trusted 'research' conducted by people who had never even seen a real ghost before.

All of this information was biased and untrue, yet it was given foolhardy credit as groundbreaking research.

It drove Maddie insane just thinking about it. False theses were being taught throughout the world and was used as a guide by ghost hunters.

Maddie ruthlessly tossed the piles of paper and books into the bin, squishing it down to get everything in it.

She brought the bin up and emptied it into the fire bucket, and did this several times to get rid of all of the cursed research. Satisfied with her work, she went back to the lab. It looked so bare. The only pieces of paper that had not been thrown out were blueprints for inventions.

It was weird, Maddie had never noticed how cluttered the lab was.

Suddenly the portal flickered open, the blast doors creaking apart. Maddie rushed to close it, not wanting any uninvited visitors. She did not expect Phantom to come careening out of the portal, the doors nearly catching his tail.

The brief green light that had flooded the lab vanished and Phantom lay in a heap on the floor, panting madly.

"Oh hey Maddie," he puffed out.

Maddie stared incredulously at the boy. He was covered in dust and his suit was scorched in places. There was a cut on his forehead and Maddie could see bruising on his neck.

"What happened?" She asked, her motherly instincts horribly guessing the answer that she already knew.

"Ah, it was just a skirmish. However, you should see the other guy," Phantom chuckled pushing himself off of the floor. He swayed slightly before straightening out. Maddie watched fascinated as he turned his hand intangible and dug into the wall. He rummaged around for a bit before pulling a flask from the wall.

"You've been hiding stuff in my basement walls?' Maddie raised an eyebrow. How many times had Phantom been able to have the run of the place, without her or Jack knowing?

"Sorry about that. It's just that ectoplasm is really dangerous to humans, even if they get it on their skin there could be a reaction. The walls in your basement are heavily reinforced, so if some leaks, it won't seep into the soil. It's the only safe place I know where to store it," Phantom explained apologetically. His whole posture shifted, like a kid getting a scolding and trying to make up for his actions.

"Oh," was all Maddie could say. Phantom was right, ectoplasm was incredibly dangerous to humans, and the basement was probably one of the best places to store it safely.

"Phantom, I would like to ask you some questions about the Ghost Zone, I want to get solid research and not some shit thought up by an old fool," Maddie decided to get straight to the point, she had no idea how to engage with small talk.

Phantom smirked. "Sure fire ahead. I have nothing better to do," He hovered above the ground, sitting cross legged in the air.

Maddie was taken back by Phantom's compliance. He was totally at ease, despite the fact that he was in the lab surrounded by weapons that could seriously hurt him. It was like he was used to the lab, familiar with it.

Maddie got a blank book and pen, eager to get started. She was excited, what wealth of information was she going to learn?

"Do you mind if I video this? This is going to be the first proper research conducted on the Ghost Zone and its inhabitants. People need evidence if they are to accept that ghosts are sentient and are truly not hostile," Maddie studied Phantom's face, emotions and thought clearly flickering across his features.

"I guess, if you have to," he replied awkwardly.

"Don't worry, if you do not want to answer anything, you don't have to," Maddie reassured him instantly. It was weird how the other week she would have used this opportunity to conduct physical experiments on the ghost before her. The image of what that would entail made her sick to her stomach now.

"Okay," Phantom gave her a small smile.

Maddie setup the camera so that the portal was deliberately in the background, and so her and Phantom were both in the frame.

"Let's start off with something simple, how long have you been in the Ghost Zone for?" Maddie tried to phrase her question carefully. She didn't want to bring up any bad memories.

"About a year and a half, I'm quite young for a ghost," Phantom tugged at his jumpsuit. He seemed nervous.

"And is there a form of government in the Zone?"

Phantom cocked his head to the side, as if pondering what he was going to say.

"Well, there is a group of ghosts called the Observants. They're like a council that makes sure that ghosts don't destroy the Zone. Powerful ghosts like Vortex who like to cause mindless property damage in both worlds would be detained by them. It's a bit weird because even though Skulker will hunt me down and injure me, it's not considered a big offence because ghosts can heal their injuries quite quickly,"

"Secondly there's a ghost called Walker, he's the guy that invaded Amity a while back and overshadowed the mayor," Phantom grimaced at the mention of the mayor and Maddie jumped on the chance to learn more.

"Speaking of the mayor, Phantom, it appeared that you had taken him hostage," Maddie was hoping that Phantom had a valid reason.

"No that's what I'm talking about, Walker had overshadowed the mayor and made it look like I had taken him hostage. That's why the mayor has no knowledge of the event," Phantom explained in a rush. Now that Maddie thought about it, the mayor did have no recollection of his kidnapping. It made sense.

"So why did Walker go through all that trouble to discredit you Phantom?"

"Well, Walker must have been a police officer or something in his past life because he was obsessed with upholding his laws. When I first… became a ghost I was new and terrified of the Zone. Sam, Tucker and your son had helped me out, giving me a radio so I could talk to them while in exploring the Zone,"

"According to Walker, radios are forbidden. Don't ask me why, he has really strange rules. He locked me up with a bunch of other ghosts. We plotted together and got out, and ever since Walker has held a serious grudge," Phantom sipped at his flask and Maddie sniffed at the well known smell of ectoplasm.

It was very strong and Maddie was sure it would stink out the lab for a few days. She didn't have the heart to reprimand the ghost. Now that she was looking at him properly, the bruises on Phantom's neck were distinctly hand shaped.

"Who were you fighting before you came charging into my lab?" Maddie asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. She needed to stay neutral, this research needed to be conducted properly.

"Ah it was just Plasmius being grouchy again. The Observants hold a lot of power in the Zone, and he wants to get elected to their council, but they don't want him joining the club. Plasmius was the one that released Vortex the very first time he attacked Amity, and he accidentally released Vortex the second time too," Phantom's face seemed to sour at the mention of Plasmius.

Maddie was intrigued to find out more about this Plasmius. She remembered at the college reunion that Plasmius had tried to kill Jack for some unknown reason. Maybe Phantom knew why?

"So he was choking you?" Maddie pointed to the bruises on Phantom's tanned neck.

"He likes to pin me against walls and then proceed to threaten me, tell me that his awesome plan shall work. I get bored, tell him to get a cat and after that I kick his ass," Phantom grinned crookedly like he was talking about a bet he had won and not a battle.

"You don't seem bothered that he keeps attacking you,"

"Well at first I was, Plasmius is very powerful, he has over twenty years of experience to my measly one. The thing is though, he's overconfident and alone. The ghosts in the Zone don't like Plasmius as he tries to bully and order them around a lot, while I actually have a few allies and friends,"

Maddie latched onto the opportunity "Can you tell me about some of your allies?"

Phantom lightened up, his mood lifted instantly. He must really not like Plasmius.

"Well, there's Frostbite. He looks like a giant snow yeti or something, but he's really friendly. When my ice core first developed I would have died, well permanently this time, if it wasn't for Frostbite,"

"Ice core?"

"Well yeah, I have an ice core. That is why I can use ice. Ghosts can have all kinds of cores, Plasmius has a fire core for example, and so does Ember. I don't really get how the cores work but they're essentially a part of our being, like a part of our soul," Phantom held his head in one hand, the other lazily forming ice crystals.

Maddie was fascinated.

"So can you physically manipulate ice or can you only form it?"

"I can only form it. Frostbite is quite powerful though, I know he can do some pretty awesome stuff. However recently I've learned how to reinforce the ice I create, and make it stronger and more resilient. If I make a small crystal and pump enough ectoplasm into it, it will never melt. But I can only do that if it's small," Phantom demonstrated by creating a crystal. Green light shone from his hands, showing the bones. A second later Phantom uncurled his hands, unveiling a small ice sculptor.

It was a little figurine of the ghost portal, and within the ice Maddie could see tiny bits of ectoplasm floating around. It looked beautiful, she had never seen anything like it before.

"Here, have it," Phantom placed the miniature portal in the palm of his hand and Maddie hesitantly picked it up.

It was cool to her touch, but not unpleasant. The detail in the ice was incredible, Maddie could even see the controls for the portal, and the small groves for the blast doors to open and close.

"Oh wow Phantom, it's wonderful," Maddie breathed, fully appreciating the gift. The crystal fit neatly on her palm and when she closed her fist it held firm.

Phantom took another long gulp from his flask and his glow brightened a bit.

Maddie placed the sculptor in her pocket and wrote down a few notes for a minute, to give Phantom a small break.

"So, you are drinking ectoplasm yes?" She asked when she was happy with her notes.

"Yeah. Ghosts can replenish their energy on their own, that's what their cores do, but if you drink raw ectoplasm it helps heal wounds and gives ya an energy boost. It's quite handy after fights. Ghosts can survive without raw ectoplasm but sometimes they can become very sluggish if their core isn't strong enough to continuously replenish their energy,"

Maddie really wanted to ask more, but the ghost before her looked was grey circles under his eyes and his whole posture was exuding tiredness.

One more question.

"Do ghosts need to sleep?" Her random change in subject must have caught Phantom off guard as he jerked slightly.

He gave her a smirk before righting himself into his sitting position again.

"I know that I need to sleep I suppose, I always feel better afterwards. Maybe it's because I'm such a young ghost. Honestly I don't know about the other ghosts, but I'll ask 'em next time I run into Frostbite or Dora,"

Maddie added a few more details to her notes. She couldn't wait to talk to Jack and share the research.

"Phantom, thanks for talking to me, that'll be enough for now. Why don't you go and get some rest?" Maddie suggested, pushing her hand forward.

Phantom shook the hand, seeming surprised.

"Yeah I guess I'll go for a nap or something. Bye Maddie!"

Maddie watched as Phantom went intangible and raced through the basement roof. She got up to turn off the camera when she noticed that Phantom had left his flask lying on the floor.

She picked up the flask, trying to place it somewhere. Maddie was certain that she had seen it before, but couldn't remember where.

Shrugging off the nostalgia, Maddie carefully closed the the flask as there was still a little bit of ectoplasm left and put it on a nearby workbench. She got a sticky note and stuck it to the flask.

This belongs to Phantom, don't mess with it.

Maddie pulled the crystal out of her pocket, admiring it. A ghost that had enough power to level the city had made this tiny ice sculpture, a complete replica of the portal in front of her.

The fact that Phantom had created it right before her eyes, that it was a spontaneous decision made Maddie feel even more guilt. Phantom must have practiced making sculptures, the fact that he had made it so flawlessly showed it.

And here she thought that all ghosts did was destroy things.

Yet here she was holding a piece of art made by one of the most powerful ghosts out there.

A supposed being of mass destruction.

Maddie held the precious gift in her hand, fingers roaming along its surface, mapping out every crevice. She looked to the clock on the wall.

10:46pm it told her.

For once in her life, Maddie decided to go to bed early. She trudged up the stairs, checking on Danny and Jazz on the way to her bedroom.

Both were sound asleep.

Happy that her family was accounted for (Jack had been in the kitchen trying to fix the microwave) Maddie tumbled into bed, only realizing now how tired she was.

She didn't even remember sleep claiming her.

XxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxx

Mark nursed his empty coffee mug. It was one in the morning and his brain sluggishly told him that it was Friday, and that Thursday had retreated only to reappear next week.

He had wacky thought processes on good days and when Mark was tired, sometimes things got downright weird.

Like daydreams about sheep dancing to Gangnam Style.

Mark liked his new flat, but he did not like his new neighbours. One neighbour in particular fit the description of a crazy cat lady. She had at least eight of the felines residing in her flat, but Mark was certain there was more. It wouldn't have been so bad, Mark didn't mind cats too much, even if he was more of a dog person.

And then he found out that the woman loved fish, specifically sushi.

Mark had gone out of his way to avoid the unusual woman, but she had it in her head that neighbours should be the best of friends, apart from her cats, and kept insisting that Mark come over and have some sushi.

He gagged. Anything but the sushi.

To save himself from the slimy vengeance of the sushi, Mark had come up with some bullshit story that he was allergic to cats. The woman, Marlene, had been shocked and instead of the white lie working in his favour, it backfired.

Severely.

Marlene, feeling incredibly guilty that Mark could not enjoy sushi with her, had taken to making meals for Mark in her workplace. Which turned out to be a highly respected Japanese restaurant.

That specialised in sushi.

It seemed that everything came back to that one dish.

The fiasco with his neighbourly troubles had distracted Mark thoroughly from his work, and this had been the first ample opportunity.

Happy with the free time, Mark had lost track of it. (He had lost his watch which didn't help)

Despite the solid run of research he had managed to do, Mark was beyond frustrated. There was plenty of eye witness accounts of Phantom, but after that, nothing at all was really known about the ghost and it was driving Mark insane.

Whenever Mark was involved in directing a movie, he wanted to know everything there was to know about the story and its characters, fictional or real.

It was just the way he worked, and his colleagues found it amusing to the say the least.

The Debate Team, who were beginning to grow on him with their eccentric traits, were also at their wit's end looking for information on Phantom.

At this stage Mark was tempted to hunt down the elusive ghost and interview him by himself.

An idea tickled at the back his mind and Mark tried to grasp it. Ghost hunters would know something about Phantom? The Red Huntress maybe?

But then again the Red Huntress was notoriously hard to find. Fetan? Fetin?

Mark went back to his desk.

"Ah ha!" He exclaimed to himself. Fenton.

It seemed that his sleep deprived brain was forgetful.

In his pile of research, the Fenton's address was hastily written out. Millie had given to him.

Mark suddenly had a plan of action. He would go to the Fentons tomorrow and ask them about what they knew of Phantom.

Happy at the thought of making progress, Mark fell into bed not bothering to change his clothes.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxXxxx

Morning came all too quick for Danny, the harsh sunlight penetrating his curtains and searing into his eyes.

He peeked a lid open, his alarm clock blurry, the red digits just making sense to Danny's sleep hazed brain.

6:23am.

He groaned, unwilling to leave the warm confines of his bed. His very comfy bed.

Danny had had his sleep interrupted twice last night, once by the Box Ghost and the other by a very irritated Kitty.

He would need to talk to Kitty and Johnny, explaining to them that he was not their mediator to rant at after one of their spats, as for some reason they loved to run to him to blow off steam.

Sam and Tucker of course found it hilarious.

Danny was content to lay in bed, his mind slowly replaying the events of the night before.

Talking to Maddie as Phantom was weird. The fact that she didn't mind cursing around him as Phantom, was weirder still. Maddie made it a point not to swear when Danny or Jazz were around.

The look of joy and wonder on Maddie's face when he gave her the crystal made Danny feel immensely proud. He loved to create models and statues with his ice power and he practised quite regularly.

Danny liked art, but he was simply awful at drawing and painting. He had never thought to try out sculpting. Hmm, it would properly be too late to do it now. Maddie was smart, and observant when she knew what she was looking for.

If Danny suddenly became interested in sculpting it might be a little too coincidental.

It didn't bother him too much, he could always practice as Phantom. Danny listened closely as he could hear movement from down the hall. It seemed that his mother was stirring. He knew it wasn't Jack because Maddie was able to avoid the squeaky floorboards.

Reluctantly Danny left the his bed, mourning the wonderful embrace of his pillow and quilt.

It was time for another day of bullying, ghosts and dodging Lancer.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxXxxx

Danny sighed, shifting about in the locker he was currently shoved in to get more comfortable.

Danny's record of avoiding Dash had been amazing too, he had gone nearly the entire day without the jock managing to catch him. Then just before last class Danny had felt the familiar pressure at the back of his neck and the pull of his shirt.

He wasn't really bothered to phase himself out of the locker. He had an ample excuse not to be in class, which happened to be history. Danny was tired and a teacher droning on about the the Age of Exploration didn't exactly appeal to him right now.

Oddly content to snooze in the locker, Danny had just gotten comfortable when a shiver racked through his lanky frame.

Groaning at his misfortune, Danny changed form, the white light bouncing off of the metal sides of the locker.

He phased his head through the locker door, making sure there was no one else in the hallway.

Danny zoomed out of the school, the wind roughly tossing his snowy hair.

Adrenaline pooled in his veins, power flooded his arms and legs.

He was ready for a fight. Danny patrolled the area, trying to the find the source of his ghost sense activating.

Getting frustrated Danny was about to turn back the way he came and do another loop when a familiar bark caught his attention.

"Cujo! Stop leaving the Zone, it's not safe for you out here," Danny tried to scold the blob of green slobbering all over his boots.

He didn't succeed.

XxxXxxxXxxxxXxxxxxxx

Mark had gotten up at twelve and was still half asleep despite the freezing cold shower he had and the three cups of coffee that he had gulped down.

He wearily left his flat, hoping that Marlene would not notice his departure.

Proud of his clean get away, Mark strolled around Amity for a while, scrutinising his new surroundings. The town was nice enough he supposed, but Mark couldn't help but flinch when he spotted discoloured pavement or smashed pieces of concrete.

The thing that disturbed him the most perhaps, was the human shaped indents in tarmac and walls, and the fact that they were nearly all distinctly Phantom-shaped.

Phantom must be thrown about a lot, it seemed.

Mark continued on with his wonderings, content to completely avoid the Japanese sushi shop. If Marlene was not in her flat, then that is where she would be.

Turning around a corner Mark stopped dead in his tracks.

Phantom, the ghost that had been plaguing his thoughts with mystery and curiosity was being drooled on. By a puppy. To give Phantom credit though, the puppy was bright green and had suddenly grown to a thoroughly threatening (and horrifying size).

Fear gripped Mark, tearing out his guts. He was frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to speak.

"Ah Cujo stop it!" Phantom laughed at the terrifying beast. Phantom pushed the massive dog (those teeth!) off of him, grabbing what appeared to be a chew toy.

Mark's legs were still lead, so when Phantom abruptly twisted around to throw the chew toy in his direction, he couldn't move a muscle as the gigantic dog of his nightmares charged towards him.

Instead of running, Mark did the next best thing and fainted, falling face first onto the pavement.

He could still remember the look on Phantom's face.

0.0


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An update? :0
> 
> Guys, (and girls sorry in Ireland ‘guys’ is basically a unisex term)  
> I am so sorry. I had all summer and I literally wrote nothing. I had the worst kind of writer's block. I was so mad because I had all this free to write, and I in the Zone if ya know what I mean. 
> 
> But anyway, it is _finally_ here.
> 
> You guys have been so awesome to stick with me. I have to say, writing this chapter was like pulling teeth but I found my groove in the last week and the words flew.
> 
> This has not been beta read yet.
> 
> Enjoy ;)

Danny froze, his arm still poised in the air. Cujo seemed to completely ignore the unconscious human at his feet, the chew toy dangling from his drooling teeth.

The half ghost cautiously moved forward and bent down to check the poor chap. The guy was as white as a sheet and was out like a light. Danny stared a bit more, throwing Cujo’s toy again to get the dog to stop whining at him. The man looked vaguely familiar…

Oh _shit_

Danny smacked himself in the head for being so stupid. Mark Porter was currently passed out at his feet. Feeling immensely guilty (Since he did kind of throw the toy in Mark’s direction) Danny gingerly picked the famous director up into his arms. What was he going to do? There was still around twenty minutes of class left and Danny wanted his teacher to find him in the locker so he wouldn't get another detention. Mark could wake up any second and it's not like Danny could hide the celebrity director in the janitor’s closet. 

Pondering his options, Danny shooed Cujo off as the ghostly canine tried to lick Mark on the face.

“Down boy!” He scolded. Cujo just looked at him with an innocent expression.

“Go home, back to the Zone!” Danny continued. He glared sharply as the dog dropped the toy at his feet. Sighing Danny sifted Mark in his arms so he could pick up the toy. Cujo perked to attention, his whole body wiggling with barely restrained excitement. Danny marveled at the current tiny size of the dog.

“Come on boy, follow me,” Danny coaxed Cujo down the street. He took to the air with a destination in mind. Cujo bounded after him, tongue lolling out happily. Despite the unconscious man in his arms, Danny couldn't help but laugh at some of the looks he got from people on the streets. But then again, all they saw was a flying ghost boy with some random guy in his arms chased by a weird green puppy.

But then again this was _Amity_.

The UFO esque silhouette of the Fenton Household speared itself into view. Danny raced through the streets checking over his shoulder every now and then to make sure Cujo was still scampering along. 

Danny reached the front door to his house and paused. What the hell was he supposed to say? Cujo passed through the door, impatient at Danny’s hesitation. Danny hurriedly knocked on the door. He could hear Cujo’s startled bark and his mother’s yell. Cujo came charging through the door and cowered behind Danny’s legs.

“Come back here mutt!” The door swung open and Danny shrank back as a gun barrel nearly smacked him in the face.

“Phantom?” Maddie asked pointing the gun down. Her hair was a bushy mess and her goggles were haphazardly placed on her head. She gave him an uncertain look of surprise.

“Eh hi Maddie, sorry about that. The little mutt is Cujo. He’s harmless, he just likes to break out of the Ghost Zone every now and again,” Danny nattered on. He almost forgot about Mark, until he realised that Maddie was staring.

“Oh this Mark. Cujo scared the poor guy, I think he fainted. I couldn't leave him out on the street, and I'm sorry for kind of dumping him on you but I really need to get Cujo back in the Zone,” 

“He fainted?” Maddie said slowly, an eyebrow raised.

“I think Cujo gave him a scare,” Danny replied.

Maddie motioned for him to come in. Danny maneuvered himself through the doorway, careful not to bash Mark against the wooden frame. Danny followed Maddie to the living room and gently laid Mark down on the the couch.

“I'm really sorry about this,” he said again, feeling guilty. He hastily grabbed Cujo by the scruff and went down to the basement. He paused realising that the fingerprint scanner lock was on. If he opened it himself, that would definitely set off a few alarm bells.

“Eh, Maddie could you open the portal please?” He called. Wow this was really weird. Danny heard the light footsteps of his mother on the basement steps.

Cujo wiggled in his grip impatiently. The green dog proceeded to lick Danny’s hand covering it in slobber.

“Ew,” Danny muttered inspecting his hand. Cujo looked up at him happily, reaching forward to lick Danny’s face.

“Is he your dog?” Maddie asked, thumb poised over the scanner. The machine flashed a merry green and the portal doors slid open. Danny unceremoniously tossed Cujo into the Zone, sticking his hand in as well and turning it intangible to get rid of the ghost dog’s saliva.

“Not really. He’s the ghost of one of the old guard dogs at Axion Labs. When they weren't needed anymore, they were put down. Cujo, however, couldn't go on till he got one thing,” Danny reached into his belt and pulled out the battered chew toy, chucking it into the Zone too. 

“He came back as a ghost because of a _chew toy_?” Maddie said incredulously. She closed the portal, the sturdy blast doors smashed into each other, sealing the ghostly dimension off from the lab.

“Yeah. Ghosts can back for a lot of weird reasons,” Danny dusted off his hands twisting them behind his back uncertainly.

“Well I can look after the guest, I don't suppose you know him do you?”

“Eh, yeah I actually met him once before. His name is Mark, Mark Porter,” Danny rushed out his response praying that his mother wouldn't recognise the name.

“Oh. Mark then?” Maddie asked, quietly almost to herself. Her hand went to her chin and Danny cringed. That pose was Maddie’s thinking pose.

“I have to go real quick, but I’ll be back to help!” Danny looked at his watch. He had four minutes to get to the school. “Thanks Maddie!” He yelled flying off through the ceiling.

Danny made himself invisible zipping towards the school. His hair was plastered backwards from the force of the wind. He hoped, for once in his life, that things would go his way.

Danny wore a smug grin as he snuck back into school (haha that’s weird ain’t it?) and shoved himself in the same locker that Dash Baxter has squashed him into earlier. He changed back, warmth flooding his being.

The bell rang. Mission Accomplished.

XxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxx

Mark felt woozy, like someone had tossed him into a smoothie mixer and had turned it on full blast.

He lay there for awhile trying to remember what happened. Then he realised that he wasn't in his own bed. Or on his own couch.

Mark lept to his feet; and he immediately regretted that course of action. His head swam and his stomach was trying to do an Olympic gymnastic routine. Mark crumpled to the floor in a haphazard pile.

“Are you okay?” A soft female voice called out and for a moment Mark thought he was dreaming. He blinked blearily, the world was a mash of colours. A strong hand clamped around his shoulder and Mark felt himself being pulled up off the floor. 

Now in the sitting position, his head seemed to be bored of swimming and the dizziness eased off. Mark peeled open his eyes and stared at most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Deep violet eyes locked onto his own. Gorgeous red haired fanned the most splendid face. Mark gave the woman a lazy smile, thinking that he _must_ be dreaming.

“Mark? Mark can you hear me?” The Angel spoke, concern showing across her serene features. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said. The woman frowned slightly before standing up. Mark could hardly believe his eyes. He gasped quietly in complete awe.

“Mr Porter how do you feel?” The Angel asked, her strong hands poised on her wondrous hips. He went to answer her, no point in making her impatient, but Mark felt his throat close up. What should he say? 

Mark’s heart thundered in his chest and his lungs complained about a lack of air. The Angel crouched down in front of him again, her face only inches away from his own. Her hand went to his forehead. This was all so sudden. He needed time, flowers maybe.….

With random thoughts jumbling around his head, Mark barely noticed the woman’s concerned questioning and for the second time that day, he passed out.

XxxxxXxxxxxxxXXxxxxxxx

Danny skipped out of the school ignoring Sam and Tucker’s snickering. He had gotten away with no detention, the new student teacher apparently mystified at how someone could how locked poor Danny in the locker. She had even given him a homework pass. 

Absolutely beaming with his success, Danny hurriedly told Sam and Tucker about Mark.

“So you have _the_ Mark Porter passed out at your house?” Tucker raised an eyebrow, not really believing the wild story. Sam seemed to be more accepting of the tale.

“So what did your mom say when you flew in?” She asked a sly smirk on her face.

“Well, I think she was in shock or something. Cujo had barged into the house and Mom had answered the door with the Fenton Bazooka in her hands,” Danny explained shifting his backpack to one shoulder. He sighed when he felt a hole in the stitching. Where was all these holes coming from? There was another one in his trouser pocket.

“I wish I could have seen that conversation,” Sam laughed, eyes twinkling with mirth. 

“I’d say do you guys wanna go see him, but I need to go back as Phantom and sort some stuff out,” 

Tucker huffed, knowing the meaning of his words.  
“We can all hang out at my place today I guess,” he sighed, clearly disappointed.

“Thanks man. I’ll see if I can arrange a meeting or something,” Danny replied. He pulled his phone from his backpack and proceeded to text his mom.

_Doing a project in Tucker’s, I'm getting dinner there too. :)_

He passed his bag to Tucker and bid his friends goodbye.

XxxxxXxxxxxXXxxxxxxx

Danny Phantom knocked on the door his knuckles rapping against the hardwood. He stood awkwardly outside of his own house, nervously hopping from foot to foot. If felt like ages when the door finally creaked open, a very surprised Maddie ushering him in.

“Phantom,” she pointed him to the living room and Danny shyly floated in, his feet a foot off the ground. He could feel his mother’s gaze on his back.

“How's Mark?” Danny asked trying to make some conversation.

“He woke up once and was a bit delirious. It's very strange behaviour for someone who fainted. I think he hit his head on the way down,” 

Danny stiffened, looking at the prone body on the couch. Guilt churning through him, he slowly moved forward to check Mark for himself. The man was about average height, with bright auburn hair wildly splayed across his head. A small patch of skin was darkened with bruising, just left of Mark’s temple.

“Maybe we should try wake him up, to be safe. He might have a concussion,” Danny gently shook Mark’s shoulder, trying to rouse the famous director. Feeling incredibly weird (The Dead Teacher franchise _was_ one of his all time favourites) Danny increased his efforts. Stubbornly, Mark barely twitched an eyelid.

“Huh,”

“Let my try,” Maddie walked over and Danny backed up a bit, so as not to get in her personal space. Maddie was still nervous around him.

She tapped Mark’s arm, then started to weakly slap his face. Danny had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent his laughter escaping. The whole scene looked hilarious, but if Mark didn't wake up they’d have to take him to hospital. 

To his relief Mark made a noise, somewhere between a groan and a yelp. Danny let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Maddie stopped and stepped back as blue eyes struggled open, widening when the owner took in the occupants of the room. 

Mark lept off the couch, trying to get to his feet. He failed in that endeavour and tumbled to the ground. Danny reached forward, catching the director before he crashed into the coffee table. Danny helped him onto the couch and decided to let Maddie do the talking.

“Hello, Mark can you hear me?”

She got a slow nod in response.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two?” Came the hesitant response. Danny looked over at Maddie’s hand, two fingers were poised in the air.

“Okay do you feel nausea? A headache maybe?” Maddie continued in her questioning.

"Just a little dizzy I think, but would you mind telling me if I'm hallucinating, because I see Danny Phantom is hovering right over there,”

XxxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxx

Mark’s head was fuzzy, stuffed with cotton. It was quite disorientating. The Angel was back, and if Mark was correct (this could very well be a trippy dream) Danny Phantom was in the same room as him.

The one ghost that had been driving Mark up the wall with his mysterious persona. The answer to so many of his questions was standing right in front of him. Then Mark turned his head back to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had been sure that she was a dream, but this was no dream. 

The throbbing in his head proved it.

Mark felt a blush rise to his cheeks. 

Wait a minute, where the hell was he? The living room he was in was big, but worn, like it had been through a lot. Mark looked down at himself. Thank God he was wearing his own clothes. He cleared his throat trying to shake off his unease.

It was very weird waking up in a complete stranger’s house with a ghost. Hmm maybe that could be a good movie… 

_Focus Mark Dammit._

“Em, well, where I am exactly?”

Phantom and the woman (Mark struggles not to stare, his mother drilled that it's rude to stare into his head) blink in surprise.

“Oh, this is em Maddie’s house. Maddie Fenton. You know, the real famous ghost hunter?” Phantom rubbed the back of neck. Maddie looked ever so slightly uncomfortable. The cogs in Mark’s brain finally started to process what Phantom had said.

“Why is there a ghost in your house?” Mark blurted the first thing that came to mind. He instantly regretted it. Phantom flinched back, like he had been physically struck. His expression cut right into Mark’s core, a hurt that streaked across his young features. Phantom looked so young, unsecure. How old was he when he died?

Maddie threw her gaze to the floor distinctly on edge. She moved to the side slightly as if trying to put more space between Phantom and herself.

“No it's just em, ironic, eh I'm sorry that came out wrong,” Mark nervously scratched his guilt blooming in his chest. The whole room was saturated in awkwardness, the overbearing silence was almost oppressing. Phantom seemed to be the most affected by Mark’s stupid remark. The director racked his dumb, stupid, retarded brain for anything, _anything_ that he could say.

“It's pretty cool,” he said. He got two simultaneous eyebrow raises. He almost laughed at the identical faces Maddie and Phantom made. If Phantom was not a long dead kid (he thinks anyway, Mark is certainly _not_ going to ask when Phantom died. Even _he_ wasn't that dense), Mark would say that he and Maddie are somewhat related. Subtly scrutinising the pair, they do look similar. (Apart from the hair and eye colour, and ya _know_ the being dead thing. For all Mark knows, Phantom could be decades older than Maddie)

The last thought makes Mark freeze up again before remembering that he had said something.

“That a ghost and a ghost hunter are friends,” Mark says, cringing at the corny line. There was a reason why he always refuses to work on scripts for his movies.

Phantom and Maddie looked at each other and Mark was terrified that he had grossly misread the situation. For all he knew he had been kidnapped. Maybe he was a hostage right now? He drew a panicked breath before scolding himself for jumping to conclusions.

“Are you hungry?” Phantom asked suddenly preventing another painfully awkward silence from returning. Maddie rubbed her hands together. Her whole demeanor changed instantly. Easy confidence seemed to ooze from her and Mark felt jealous at how at ease she was. But then again this was _her_ house.

Huh.

“I think we could all do with something to eat, come on,” Maddie shooed him out of the living room, Phantom following with a small grin on his face. Maddie began fussing over Mark, what food he would like, was he allergic to anything, do he still feel ill. The shy director felt a little overwhelmed at all of the attention directly aimed at him. It didn't help that he had the biggest crush on a woman he had just met. All the while Phantom was floating in the corner of the room, perfectly content to watch. His smile had stretched out to a full blown smirk.

Maddie had successfully stuffed Mark to the gills with food (and by God he never knew that someone's cooking could taste _that_ bad. He swore that the potatoes were glowing and he _knew_ that he had heard Phantom laughing at him) 

After Maddie had seemed satisfied by Mark’s semi empty plate, she sat down at the table. Phantom hovered over and grabbed his own chair, his glowing feet never once touching the floor. 

He was sitting at the table with a ghost.

“I'm really sorry,” Phantom said. Mark noticed that he had a very slight echo to his voice.

“About what?” Maddie asked. She crossed her arms on the table, leaning on them.

“Well I kinda dumped Mark on you like that, and Mark you wouldn't have em, ‘passed’ out if Cujo hadn't ran like a freight train towards you. I honestly didn't see ya there,” Phantom had started rubbing the back of his neck again. Maybe it was a nervous habit?

“But Cujo is hardly bigger than a puppy, are you afraid of dogs?” Maddie asked. Mark felt embarrassment creep up, he was certain that his cheeks were crimson.

 _“Says the one who had the bazooka,”_ Phantom muttered. Mark whipped his head to the ghost’s direction. Phantom just looked passively back, a humorous glint in his toxic green eyes.

Maddie must not have heard him at all, confused at Mark’s sudden reaction. 

“You see, the thing is Maddie, Cujo can change his appearance. One second he can be an adorable little puppy, the next he’s a terrifying six foot monster. The guy has big teeth too,” Phantom cut in before Mark lost anymore of his dignity, ‘passing out’ was bad enough. He silently thanked Phantom with a small grateful smile. The ghost caught it and grinned openly back. 

Maddie seemed fascinated by the whole exchange.

“So how did you guys know each other beforehand?”

“Well you see-em,well,” Mark began. He was caught off guard by the sudden question and when he taught about the answer, it sounded a little ridiculous.

_I asked Phantom to act as a main role in my next film._

Phantom also seemed a little flustered, unsure at how to answer as well. The hand was back at his neck.

“Em, well Mark here approached me one night-”

“Yeah, it was really dark wasn't it? Last Tuesday?” Mark interrupted.

“No I think it was Wednesday or was it a Thursday?” Phantom pondered a gloved hand on his chin.

“Nah, I'm positive it was a Tuesday,” Mark was ticking off the days on his hand.

“Was it?”

“Guys you’re getting a little off track…” Maddie intervened before they could start again.

“Oh yeah sorry. Mark asked me to act in his next movie. Oh I never gave you my answer my bad,” Phantom grinned lopsidedly, resting his head on hand.

Mark was taken aback for a second “Oh yeah,” he said.

Maddie had the funniest look on her face. It was a cross of disbelief and amusement. But then again this was one of the weirdest conversations that Mark had ever had. After all he was sitting at a table with a ghost and a ghost hunter.

He really couldn't get over the pure _irony_ of it.

“You asked Phantom to act in one of your movies? Are you a producer?” Maddie got up from her seat. Mark watched as she went to the fridge and pulled out some leftovers.

Oh crap. She didn't recognise him. He looked across to Phantom who had a similar _oh shit_ face.

“I'm a movie director, eh I directed the Dead Teacher franchise,” Mark said shyly. Phantom was cringing from his side off the table. He knew something that Mark didn't.

“Dead Teacher, those R-rated horror movies that I know my son watches despite me expressively forbidding him from doing so?” Maddie asked her tone almost freezing the air, it was that icy. Mark could hear Phantom gulping. He slowly drew his finger across his throat when Maddie had her back to him. 

Mark shrunk back down into his seat. Wow. This was back to very awkward. He really needed to be careful of what he said.

_Were you watching them scary movies again?!_

Mark’s mother suddenly came into mind. She used to get enraged if she found out he had been watching horror movies. He was so screwed. 

“I can't exactly control who sees my movies, the rating might be a little extreme, but that's just to be on the safe side,” That was complete bullshit. His movies were the goriest, bloodiest films out there. Phantom seemed to know it too. He raised a questionable eyebrow and mouthed _bullshit._

Mark wanted to laugh but he bit his selve to keep quiet. Maddie still had her back to the pair of them and Phanom had gained a dangerous spark in his eyes. He had the biggest, purest _shit_ eating grin that Mark had ever seen.

What the ghost did next almost made Mark piss himself with laughter.

Phantom started _wiggling_ his eyebrows with the dumbest expression on his face. He looked so ridiculous that Mark made a strange choking sound. Maddie had turned around to see what was going on. Phantom was facing her directly, but when she turned his poker face was in action. 

Looking completely innocent, the bastard acted like nothing had happened.

Maddie had her back to them again.

Mark glared at the ghost. Phantom didn't seem phased (pun _totally_ intended) in the slightest, sticking his tongue out. Then he disappeared from sight.

Except there was a tongue floating in mid air.

Mark lost it. Laughter split his sides and tears rolled down his cheeks. Phantom obviously couldn't keep it together either. Peels of laughed erupted from the empty space of air. It sounded funny as he was still sticking his tongue out.

Maddie twisted around again, only to see a tongue bobbing about in the air with no body accompanying it.

A grin broke her face and she was nearly on her knees with laughter.

Phantom flickered into existence, pure joy sparkling across his features. 

He really was like a normal kid.

You know, apart from the being _dead_ thing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. What’s this? An Update? Five months later? 0.0
> 
> I'm really sorry for dropping off the map.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support, it’s fantastic!
> 
> To the commenters, bookmarkers and kudos-ers, (shh these are words now XD) Thank you all for sticking with me and enjoy the chapter!
> 
> My thanks to caitgirl1 too for beta reading at late hours.

Mark could hear thumping. It was quite a raucous, violently jarring the director from his sleepy haze. He rubbed his eyes, curious and a little afraid.

The noise had stopped only to start up again with a resounding crash. Mark bolted up, slipping off his makeshift bed on the Fenton’s couch. He ran a nervous hand through his ruffled hair. The living room was gloomy in the low light and Mark struggled to make out anything in the gloom.

He had a mini heart attack when he mistook a chair for a misshapen human form. Mark cringed when he heard more thumping, a clatter of smashing glass rang out. The director considered going back to sleep, but adrenaline was thrumming in his veins. Besides he would be thinking about what was causing the noises all night if he didn't get to the bottom of it.

Steeling his frazzled nerves, Mark tugged on his shoes. He peeked his head around the kitchen door sighing at the empty room. 

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal hitting metal reverberated through the air. Mark clenched his fists in fright. He walked down the Fenton’s hall eyeing their ajar basement door. Creeping to the entrance, Mark peeped down the dark staircase. Bright flashes silhouetted the steel walls, casting grasping shadows.

Tugging at his hair the director nervously descended the onimus steps. He could hear whining of all things. The director paused his flight or fight response commanding him to bolt. In the end Mark’s curiosity won out over his fear. Gulping, he jumped down the last step to see Phantom holding a blue ghost in a neck hold. 

The offending ghost was scrabbling at Phantom’s arms, begging to be released.

“Let go! Let go or I will attack you with my boxes of doom!” The ghost thundered. 

Phantom just raised an eyebrow and began to march towards two giant metallic blast doors. He pressed a button on what looked like a fan imitation of a Star Trek control panel. The blast doors creaked apart exposing a void of swirling green.

All Mark could do was stare completely captivated by the sight. Phantom chucked the ghost into the mass of green, pressing the same button again causing the doors to slam shut. The basement was shrouded in darkness again, the unique light source cut off.

Phantom dusted off his hands, looking around the basement with a sullen gaze. A strange white ring materialised at his waist. Startled by the ethereal glow, Mark stumbled forward knocking into some broken glass.

The glass tinkled softly but it was loud enough to cause Phantom’s head to snap towards the noise. The ring abruptly cut off. Mark froze, doing his best impression of a deer caught in the headlights.

“Mark?” Phantom’s fierce eyes widened in surprise and dare Mark say it, fright?

“Hi,” the director replied, feeling like he had just intruded on something important, private even. Phantom looked distinctly uncomfortable, which didn't suit his usual confident persona.

“What are you doing down here?” Phantom crossed his arms and Mark couldn’t help but feel like a little kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

“I could hear fighting, are you alright?” 

Another flash of surprise flicked across Phantom’s pale face, as if it was a novelty to have someone ask of his wellbeing. It made Mark’s heart clench.

“Eh yeah, I’m fine,” Phantom surveyed the room, scowling whenever he spotted broken equipment. Mark himself looked around the room more closely. The Fenton’s basement was littered with all sorts of lab tech, microscopes, test tubes, various _guns_ and other odd devices that Mark wouldn't even be able to name.

“What is this place? And what is that?” Mark pointed to the massive blast doors. 

Phantom turned his head glancing at the doors. He rolled his shoulders and Mark cringed when he heard a loud pop.

“That is the Ghost Zone,” Phantom answered bending down to pick up a smashed jar. He fecked the remains of the jar in a nearby bin with deadly accuracy. He began cleaning the room throwing destroyed equipment in various bins with a familiar ease.

“Ghost Zone,”

“Yep. Place where all the ghosts live,” the Ghost Boy pushed his arm through a wall, frowning when he came out empty handed. He narrowed in on a workbench where a nondescript black flask sat. Phantom snatched the flask, peering at its contents.

“Oh,” Mark watched Phantom gulp whatever was in the flask. The ghost seemed to glow brighter, or maybe that had been Mark's imagination.

“This place is the Fenton’s lab. They make all their weapons and stuff in here. Don’t blab about anything you see down here, it’s a competitive industry, Ghost Hunting that is,” Phantom’s bitter tone was very off putting compared to his playful attitude earlier. Something itched in the back of Mark’s head, a stray thought. Phantom’s description of the lab left a bad taste in the director’s mouth.

The ghost put the flask in the wall, Mark was fascinated as he tracked Phantom’s arm moving through the solid steel.

“Why are you still here?” Phantom asked, but not unkindly. He floated past Mark, beckoning the director to follow. Phantom ascended the basement steps, with Mark at his heels.

They reached the living room in silence and Mark was beside himself with excitement. He finally had Phantom to himself to ask a few questions. He looked at his watch briefly and noticed the time, 3:44am. An odd time for an interview. If he could get his nerve up to start.

“What time is it?” Phantom asked abruptly, pointing at Mark’s watch breaking the director from his musing.

“Quarter to four?”

“Argh,”

“Why were you fighting in the Fenton’s basement?” Mark decided that that would be his first question, a little ice breaker. Phantom seemed to be cranky at the moment and Mark certainly didn’t want to get on the ghost’s bad side.

“The Box Ghost got out of the Zone. He’s pretty harmless but he can make a mess. So you know, I shoved him back into the Zone. Why were _you_ in the Fenton’s basement?” 

Mark blushed. “Maddie didn’t want me to go home because she thinks I was concussed. I was staying here tonight and I woke up to crashing sounds,” 

Understanding morphed on Phantom’s face. “Ah. Did you get weird dreams?” 

The randomness of the question caught Mark off guard.

“No?” 

“Lucky. I get really strange dreams when I have a concussion,” Phantom replied rubbing at his eyes. He gave Mark a knowing look.

“You can get concussions?” 

“Well I still have a brain,” Phantom smirked rapping his knuckles against his temple.

“I would hope so,” Mark replied cheekily.

The ghost snickered, his supernatural glow illuminating the room. Strange shapes and shadows danced along the walls and furniture, flickering and changing whenever Phantom shifted his stance. Mark opened his mouth to continue his questioning but Phantom beat him to it.

“I'm going to bed, I'll see ya around Mark,” Phantom vanished from sight and Mark could hear his snickering.

“That is so creepy,” Mark shook his head and settled back onto the Fenton’s couch. He couldn't bring himself to be disappointed at Phantom’s departure, the ghost looked exhausted. Besides he’d get another chance to talk to the spectre, he was sure of it. The director drifted off to sleep easily, feeling safe and secure. 

After all, there was a phantom guarding the town.

XxxxxxxxxxxxXXXxxxxxxxXXxxxxxx

Danny decided that he would strangle the Box Ghost next time he saw him. 

For the first time in ages, Danny had not been woken up by his Ghost Sense repeatedly. He supposed that it was too much to ask to get a full night’s sleep. Thank God for Saturdays.

Grumbling at the dark rings lining his eye sockets, Danny trudged down the stairs hunting for something to eat. Jolting to a stop, Danny stared at the snoring form of Mark on the floor. The man looked ridiculous sprawled on the floor tangled in various blankets and pillows. 

The halfa snickered softly continuing on his journey to the kitchen. He made himself some food, wolfing his meal in few bites. Leaving his plate by the sink Danny leaned against the worktop counter deep in thought.

Sam’s plan was running through his head; he needed ghosts other than himself showing themselves to be sentient and had hobbies other than fighting him or wrecking than the town. Hmm. He knew Dora would help, Frostbite wouldn’t hesitate either. Maybe if all the snow yetis came through the portal for a trip or something?

Danny was struck with an epiphany.

There needed to be an ambassador or a liaison between the Zone and the human world. There was no communication between the two realms. 

The half ghost thrummed his fingers on the counter top. The only problem is that there is no true leader in the Ghost Zone. The Observants are only there to make sure the Zone doesn't degrade into pure chaos and prevent the Zone’s destruction. As long as ghosts don’t destroy the very fabric of the Zone or annoy too many powerful figures, they were pretty much left alone.

The Observants couldn’t care less about the living world beyond the Zone, or what other ghosts did in the human realm.

The Zone would need to be united, or at very least seem united. Danny groaned. Ha! Good luck with that. 

Sam’s words flashed through his head. 

_They need to see ghosts doing human activities._

Ah.

XxxxxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxxxxxXXXxxxxxxxxxxxXXxxxxxx

Mark was awkwardly eating breakfast with Maddie and Jack Fenton. He picked and poked at his plate trying to convince himself to eat the glowing food. His stomach did some disgruntled flips every time he swallowed a tiny bite.

Maddie and Jack seemed to have no qualms at eating the mutated food, digging in with gusto.

Pushing the mess around a bit more, Mark felt even more uncomfortable when the two Fentons finished in record time, clearing their plates from the table. Jack disappeared from the room while Maddie went to get herself a drink. She frowned at Mark, either at his pale face or his full plate.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked concern colouring her features. Mark sighed guiltily. He didn't want to tell her that her food was eh, _unsavoury._

“Ah I’m not that hungry, I’ll probably eat something later. Eh thank you very much for your hospitality,” he said remembering his manners that his dear old ma had drilled into his head. 

“It’s not a problem. Did you sleep well?”

Mark paused before answering, should he tell her that ghosts were brawling in her lab at three in the morning?

“Great actually,” 

Nope. He’s not opening _that_ can of worms that is the Fenton’s basement. He promised himself that next time he saw Phantom he’d ask more questions. The ghost’s distaste for the lab was obvious. Mark keenly remembered the research he had been doing. (Which had been primarily focused on Phantom) The relationship between Phantom and the Fentons had been littered with misconceptions and even though they seemed to accept the ghost now, Mark didn't want to upset the peace. He had seen videos of the Fentons ruthlessly hunting down Phantom before the Vortex attack. He had seen their hostility and stubbornness. Mark would have no idea how they’d react to the fact the ghosts have battles in their very _home_ while they were sound asleep.

Rumours of the crazy inventor Fentons circulated like an out of control wildfire. He had actually been warned on several occasions by various people to stay clear of the Fentons entirely. Now that he met them, he couldn’t say he shared those people’s opinions. They were fine, generous, kind people. When ghosts were not in the picture that is. Phantom seemed acutely aware of this. Even with just a handful interactions witnessed between Maddie and Phantom, Mark could easily see that there was still an undercurrent of distrust.

Mark didn’t hate the Fentons, he wasn’t afraid of them either, it’s just their work kinda freaked him out. Actually their work was deeply unsettling to him. Talking to Phantom, seeing his behaviour struck home that Phantom was just like any other kid, albeit a bit more dead and powerful. The thought of people hunting down and firing at kids made Mark shiver in horror. The fact that the Fentons had kids themselves made the situation a bit more disturbing.

Getting back to the lab though, Mark really didn't want to bring it up again. The void of green, the Ghost Zone as Phantom had described it, greatly piqued Mark’s interest. However the lab itself deeply unnerved the director. Besides, science wasn’t really his thing. Science fiction sure, because that was _fiction._

The lab had looked terrifying in the dark and Mark wasn’t really sure he wanted to see it in its full glory bathed in cold and cynical artificial light.

Phantom’s bitterness about the lab left Mark reeling for answers. He tried not to jump to conclusions but _something_ must have happened down there. Had the Fenton’s been involved? Or was he just misinterpreting the entire situation?

Maybe he was just overthinking everything? His gut told him otherwise, that something else was going on, that there was more to it than meets the eye. 

If the Fentons had been involved, which was very plausible since it was _their_ lab, then why does Phantom trust them? And they trust him, at least enough to let the ghost dump random strangers on their doorstep.

Mark really wanted to unravel the mystery of Phantom, but he was beginning to suspect that it was much deeper than he had ever imagined. 

It wasn’t so simple and callous as just a dead teenager, Phantom could still feel pain and emotion and for a long time nobody else seemed to acknowledge this fact, the Fentons themselves included.

Wounds must have been inflicted, and wild assumptions treated as truth. To be fair, most ghosts that did come through were causing mayhem, but if they were all sentient too, then shouldn't they be treated like living human criminals? Arrested and put on a fair trial, with lawyers and defense attorneys and all that jazz. If people didn’t bother to learn more about ghosts and just answered with guns and nets and didn’t even try to communicate...

Well fear and ignorance never mixed well together, it was a recipe for disaster.

XXxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxXXxxxxxx

Maddie lead Mark to the front door, smiling as he thanked her profusely for her hospitality. The redhead watched the director amble down the street, sighing when he had finally walked out of view.

_Well that had been weird._

Phantom knocking on her door with an unconscious Hollywood director was certainly something that you didn’t see everyday. Maddie really hoped that the ghost wouldn’t make it a habit to dump injured people in her house.

One pleasant thing to come out of the whole mess though was to see Phantom more relaxed. Maddie was able to observe his behaviour with more subtlety. The more she saw, the guiltier she felt. It was a bone deep, gut wrenching guilt, twisting her insides and knotting her stomach. Maddie was disgusted with herself. How had she and Jack took things so far without any _solid_ evidence and half-assed theories?

She shook her head, shame burning through her veins.

Maddie had dared to call herself a scientist, when she had been no better than a trigger happy hunter.

An urgent ring from her phone startled Maddie from her gloomy thoughts. She fished the device out of her pocket, bringing it to her ear.

_“Hi there, is this Maddie Fenton?”_ A peppy female voice filtered through the line.

Maddie frowned, not recognising the caller. “Yes, it is. May I ask who is calling?”

_“Oh sorry, my name is Zoey Clifford, I’m with Amity Park’s Debate Team. I was wondering Mrs Fenton if you and your husband would be able to attend the debate tomorrow. I know it’s really short notice but it would be much appreciated if you could make an appearance. We would highly value your expertise,”_ Zoey paused for a breath and Maddie could feel the young woman’s tangible excitement. Zoey’s passion made Maddie cringe.

_We would highly value your expertise._

Ha! Maddie didn’t deserve to be called an expert anymore. The redhead wanted to decline. Her arrogant self before would have jumped at the chance to slander Phantom’s name.

“Please call me Maddie. I’m not really sure Zoey, who is going to be at this debate anyway?”

_“Well there’s no point in trying to downplay the significance of the debate. It’s being broadcast in at least five different countries internationally and the entire United States is expected to watch it as well. I don’t want to pressure you Mrs- Maddie, but this debate could contribute to the Anti-Ecto laws being proposed. I know that John Mendes will be attending, as well as a few others. I think Vlad Masters is coming too. We have tried to track down the Red Huntress but she’s impossible to find lately. We really need a reliable source of information regarding ghosts and you are our best bet,”_

Maddie turned it over in her head. John would be a nasty piece of work, as usual. She groaned quietly just thinking about his stubborn attitude and biased views.   
However debating was all about changing people’s opinions, maybe she could use this to fix her mistakes, to somehow elevate the crushing guilt. She could defend Phantom at the very least.

“Okay,”

_“Okay?! OMG guys she said yes! Oh eh sorry. We were really stuck in a tight spot. Please meet us at 12 in the Ghost Watch HQ, conference room 2. Thanks so much, I can’t wait to hear from you. Bye!”_ The call went dead.

This was her chance, Maddie balled her hands into fists. Her mouth set in a thin determined line.

She was not going to mess this up.


	15. An

Author’s Note

Hey guys.

I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been barely doing anything lately. With a combined force of writer’s block and no motivation, I have literally been getting nowhere. I think I’ve tried to write chapter 15 several times now.

Despite that there’s been no actual writing getting done, I have been fleshing out the plot and working through the little details. With this complete, I have decided to revamp the chapters already up. They will be double-checked for mistakes and might be tweaked here and there, but there will hopefully be no massive changes to the plot or anything. 

I want to thank everybody for being so patient with me. The support has been absolutely amazing! I love you guys!!!

This story has not been dropped or abandoned, I shall continue! (Even if takes years to finish)

 

Thanks guys!  
RevyCaitEll


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